GENEVIVE'S GEMS

Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene.

~A.C. Benson, Author (1862-1925) 

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

 It's really great to see the queer landscape really change to include everybody and make the rest of the world understand that we're not just one or two things. There's so much about the queer community that needs to be represented. 

~Nico Santos, Actor (b. 1979)

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

When we are no longer able to change a situation we are challenged to change ourselves.


~Viktor E. Frankl, Psychologist (1905-1997)

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

New Year's Day. A fresh start. a new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. only dreams give birth to change.


~Sarah Ban Breathnach

ADVISORY COUNCIL

I completed a two-year term on the advisory council at SAGE, my senior center. I served as part of the meal committee. I've never before served on any committee as such. I learned much in the time I was on the council. I was educated on the purpose of bylaws and procedures needed to run an effective council. I will continue to be active on the meal committee. 

The main point is that if people want to see and affect change, they need to become involved. whining and complaining don't do anything. Meetings on your particular concern are a great place to voice opinions and come up with solutions. When enough people voice their concerns, change can happen. Many folks have said that the meals have improved since I've been on the council. I'm pleased that they feel that way. It was them that helped affect the improvement. 

I hope to run again next year. This is from a person one could say is a reluctant activist.

Genevieve's Gems

Never believe that a few caring people can't the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have.


~Margaret Mead

Genevieve's Gems

Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.

~Robert Kennedy

Genevieve's Gems

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.


~George Bernard Shaw, Dramatist (1856-1950)

The Seasons and Transition

Spring reminds me that there is a transition from cold and snow to the blossoming of flowers and trees. The temperatures gradually get warmer. I have written a number of poems about the seasons and what each represents to me.

The seasonal changes is a parallel to the transition we as trans people make. There's the physical changes made. There's also the emotional transition. As I navigate through life I sometimes hits me the changes that have happened, often very subtle. At the trans women's group discussion I attend bimonthly it's wonderful when someone has success in an area of life that they have been struggling with. 

Seasons aren't stationary either. They just glide steadily along until the time comes when you notice the change. Seasons come and go and this spring is different from last spring. We can celebrate the changes we've made. We can continue to grow and live life without shame or guilt.

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.

~Dean Acheson, American statesman (1893-1971)

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

I get angry about things, then go on and work.

~Toni Morrison, African American Novelist (b.1931)


This quote can adequately sum up what we as transgender people feel. It also encourages us to go out and do something about it. There are many people who are out on the front lines fighting for transgender equality. Granted, not all of us can picket or become lobbyists but we all can do something. You can write letters to public officials. we can speak to our friends, schools and places of worship. Young people have created grass roots organizations in the wake of the Proposition 8 fiasco in California.

Anger can be channeled in a positive way to change our situation. It's our time now. We have a great opportunity to effect change where we can be treated as first class citizens.

Genevieve