As a black woman, I believe it is expected of me to be an activist. However, I am not. Not in the same way that other people are. I’ll say a few words and maybe even sign a petition, but I don’t think it’ll work. The petition is thrown out 9 times out of 10 or it doesn’t matter if you get a million signatures because there will be no change. I guess I’m a pessimist. There are a few instances when they do work, but most of the time they do not. And I don’t like getting worked up over something that I know will never change. As an example, consider the George Floyd riots in June 2020. Everyone was banding together to fight the world’s injustices against black people. I had one friend in particular who was very involved in activism. She took it upon herself to identify every black person in her life who did not speak up or sign the petitions. I think it’s terrible to label people who refuse to sign a petition as “bad black people.” What even makes a good black person? That month was a disaster. I also don’t agree with shaming other black people. That was supposed to be a time of change. And instead of calling out people who didn’t sign petitions. And instead of dismissing those who did not sign petitions, Why weren’t they pointing out the black people who pretended to protest to rob stores? small black-owned businesses. In high school, I attempted to raise mental health awareness in the black community. But no one was interested in listening. No one took me seriously. My family members as well. especially since my diagnosis. They assumed I was faking and acting for attention. However, these are real issues that no one wants to discuss. That’s why I’m not as involved in activism as I used to be. People simply do not care, so how can anything be changed? I don’t believe I’m as strong as the activists out there. I can’t stand failing at something I’m passionate about and not being able to make a difference, so I sometimes choose to do nothing at all. That doesn’t mean I’m uninterested in the issues.