Building Real Moments of Connection

Earlier this month, we announced the Letter to Myself campaign – a collaborative effort between Real Talk and Hopelab to center stories of hope, resilience, and compassion among BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults. We have featured eight letters on social media and include the full text on our website, each describing moving accounts of family, relationships, identity, and love. These letters are beautiful, honest, and powerful, and I am honored they each trusted us to tell their stories. 

The initial vision for this campaign was to activate youth and adults in our network to share stories that speak directly to one another. With each passing day – that brings new Covid-19 variants, anti-trans legislation, racism, gun violence, and so much more – the need to build these real moments of connection feels increasingly urgent.  

I am writing this less than a full day after the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas. As I feel the heaviness of grief, I wonder what those children may have said to their future selves, what hopes they had for the future, and how we have completely and utterly failed so many families like these. I don’t have words to say much else on the matter, but I know this feeling is what drives me to protect and nurture young people of all identities, experiences, and walks of life. My hopes for the future are to live in a world that is radically different from the one we experience today – with more kindness, love, and justice. 

In grief and solidarity, 

Cristina & the Real Talk team