A proper introduction

My name is Lindsay. I have lived my entire life in Washington State in the USA. Currently I reside in Seattle with my husband. I am a writer who is currently studying drug and alcohol counseling, but that is one piece of what I want to do. I have committed my life to working towards social justice, and my passions are women and children and helping families understand and change the cycles of poverty and violence they find themselves in. My own experiences with poverty, addiction, domestic violence, and racism inform everything I do, but in a positive way now, as I believe we can use our experiences as an opportunity. I believe in helping others find the tools to change their own lives, and when meet others I want to hear all about their own needs and how they want to dictate the processes in their lives. To often we are told by others what is best for us but I believe we all are entitled to build and grow as individuals and communities in the way WE see as best. I have also been heavily influenced by my Northern Cheyenne grandmother (for those outside US the Northern Cheyenne is one of the thousands of indigenous nations here). My mixed race family brings with it complicated issues that have really effected me and I have a strong interest in working with other people with similar experiences, and coming to terms with my own feeling about myself and my identity as a mixed race woman. I am of course also deeply passionate about all issues pertaining to Native justice.
I am working towards blending all of my passions and skills. I want to work directly in the field as a social justice worker but also dream of using my writing to spread awareness and promote activism. This is such an amazing community, and what I value most about it is finding more opportunities to support other women, and finding the intersectionalities between all of our experiences, regardless of where we are from. I'm grateful to be here, and hope I make some lasting friendships!