Today I am humbled and blessed by the contributions the people in my life – my family and friends are making in society.   Whether it’s teaching dance in India, or in Korea, Japan, or Chile teaching English, or providing medical care in Haiti, or being tenured at John Hopkins University, or a lawyer and recent liver transplant recipient dedicating her second chance to saving lives, or an Engineer reinventing himself as a lawyer, or a dancer filming her first ever film, or a sister doing a one woman show, or a life coach helping people to get it together, or a brother helping people who have been incarcerated or at risk to get on their feet, or a student flipping their tassels and switching gears to the future, or a cancer survivor uplifting others facing tough circumstances, or a mother creating and protecting life, or a dancer pursuing their dreams, or a poet turning their back on the American dream to uplift souls, or an artist painting truth, or working with young women in Kenya —

You are the heroes and role models of today.
You are the souls shining light in the dark places.
You are the dream and the hope that our ancestors fought for.
You are amazing.

Thank you for inspiring and giving me a reason to believe that we can and do make a difference.