I met my old friend, and we exchanged updates about our lives. When I heard about the area she lives in, I felt that violence exists as an ordinary part of the everyday landscape. The tragedies that seem to happen only in the news felt very close. It is not something that is happening somewhere else, but could occur at any moment in that place. I thought we need knowledge about violence. It is very difficult to see violence  when it is embedded in people’s lives. Knowledge has the power to save people and protect themselves. I deeply hope that people who are fooled into thinking they are nothing find thier way out and rebuild their lives to fulfill their potential. I think I need to learn more.

I smelled the scent of chrysanthemums on the street. This brought back another memory from my childhood. I remember an afternoon I spent in my father’s field.