Two months from today, on August 22, 2015, I head off on a new adventure in my life. I will be heading to Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA to study Social Transformation (and while I’m there, also Sexuality and Religion). Many people have asked me why I’m leaving…how I can leave…what in the world am I thinking?

My responses have been broad but fairly consistent. I want to do this because I feel led to. At just this point in my life, I have stumbled onto a very real passion that I want to nurture, sharpen, and expand. But mostly, I’m pursuing this path because I have been influenced to do so. And so, I want the world (at least the part of it that stumbles onto my blog) to know who these influencers are.

The risks of a series like this are that I will inevitably exclude someone not to mention setting myself up for a daily writing project that will be difficult to keep up with. But I’m going to do it because (1) I need to get in the habit of daily writing and (B) gratitude is a spiritual practice I need to improve upon.

So in between rallies and protests and my first class during July and narrowing down how many shoes I’ll be taking and saying goodbyes, I want to honor roughly 60 or so folks–one each day–who influenced me to take this path. Some did it outright and overtly. (You know who you are.) Others probably have no idea they influenced me in this way. And others are smiling from above saying, “It’s about time.”

So…look for influencer #1 later today or first thing tomorrow and thanks for reading.

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