"Every where you look, there's a heart"...or a Walgreens!

It's the end of Day 2 and to describe San Francisco in one word is very difficult but if I had to I would say that so far San Francisco has been vivid.... and righteous, and riveting, and colorful, and simply beautiful in so many ways.

This morning after breakfast, a group of us from Catalyst Q (myself, Justin, Cal, Steve and Simone) began the day with a bit of exploring. With rainbow rain boots and broken umbrellas on guard we survived the morning drizzle and soon the weather showed us mercy. As the sun emerged from the clouds we quickly put away our tired umbrellas and whipped out our cameras. Throughout the morning we found it quite difficult to make it to our destinations because we had sights like these to distract us:










So, we walked around exploring the area and snapping pictures left and right for what felt like days but was actually only a few hours and all too soon we returned to our hostel around lunch time with sore feet, happy hearts, and satisfied San Francisco souls.

This afternoon our destination was the GLBT History Museum that we eventually stumbled upon in the beautiful, lively, and historic Castro neighborhood:





We arrived with the sun still on our sides.
The museum housed a fraction of the actual historic items that the GLBT Historical Society has obtained overtime. From items such as Harvey Milk's own megaphone and clothing to thousands of posters, t-shirts, videos, and audio recordings, the GLBT museum took my breath away and truly made me stop and think.

I realized that I had spent the beginning of the day as simply a tourist, with my brand new camera attached firmly to my hand. Going to the museum reminded me of why I am here. That small space was filled with so many stories and so many pieces of an important history that we are not taught growing up in school. I thought about the people that don't have this opportunity and a mixture of guilt and gratefulness hugged my soul.

As I looked around at my group members I realized just how fortunate we all are to be blessed with this experience. That was by far my favorite part of the day.

As I sit here in this common space in our hostel writing this post, I am surrounded by people of all hues and angles that I do not know. When I close my eyes and listen I hear accents from all around the world, some that are familiar and some that are not. When I look out of the window I see affluence and poverty walking inches apart from each other, I see bright lights and empty streets. I am a twenty year old Hamline University student with a low income background and a heavy heart for poetry. I am a Black woman, a sister and an ally. I sometimes don't know what I know, but right now in this place, I know that I am sitting here, amongst these strangers who smile, and I am living and working for something that I believe in.

And right now, that's more than enough.

San Francisco is a magical place where beauty and heartbreak live right next door to one another.

I love it so far and I'm learning everyday. I can not wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Inspired,





--Salisa