Here’s the scene: The steady fall of rain is hitting the ground, collecting into 2 inch deep puddles, pattering softly against the tent walls. Your eyes remain closed and you can’t be certain if you slept for 5 hours or for 5 minutes. You’re nestled tightly between two friends who you’ve known for maybe a month, a day, or a week. And you have the vague sense that although you feel dry and warm, you’re most definitely not.
Where are you? A weekend hiking trip in the mountains? A spontaneous roadtrip to the closest body of water? Or the Cambridge Common, a mere stone’s throw from the very spot where George Washington first assembled the American revolutionary troops?
Where I come from (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), the idea of sleeping outside in a place where the sound of roaring trucks can be heard never would have crossed my mind. But “normal” is the last word I would use to describe The Leadership Campaign, the people involved in it, and the experiences I have had thus far with this amazing group of people. The pure passion, dedication, and energy that I feel from all those involved is enough to sustain me through the hard truths that are thrown in my face every day.
For example: This record-breaking rainstorm is a nuisance on my morning commute and it may or may not be pouring into the front window of my basement apartment, but I’m still here to tell you the tale. For the people of Peru, the heavy rains they are experiencing right now are not only completely disrupting their livelihoods for years to come, but the rain is even ending some lives early. Although there have been headaches and thousands of dollars worth of damage done to homes in New England over the past couple of weeks, we still have the resources to deal with the rain.
But how long will we have to continue to witness our climate morphing before our eyes? And how long will the escalation of 100 year storms continue until our government decides to actually do something about what’s causing the increase in intense weather patterns?
I don’t care to wait around for that question to be answered. I would rather help answer it myself, by supporting The Leadership Campaign, and standing up for what I know is right: advocating for a clean energy future.
Stay dry,
Jessica Feldish
Northeastern University Campus Legislative Coordinator