Helped By The Help

The more I come to know myself, the more I realize how much I love stories. It doesn't really matter if it's fiction or not, because I believe that all great stories come from some basis of truth. We write from what we know. So while the story in the book and movie The Help may not have actually happened, it's still quite inspiring. The story centers around Jackson, Mississippi right before the Civil Rights Movement. To see how divided our country used to be over the issue of race was beyond words. I'd like to think we've come so far, especially now that we have a black President. The movie itself was incredible, but something I witnessed in the theater itself helped convince me that this country is not beyond hope, no matter how discouraged I may get sometimes. I volunteer at pregnancy crisis center in the South Capital district of Washington D.C., but I sometimes feel like I'm in a completely different country. The stories I hear are so beyond anything I've ever even imagined that I can't help but get discouraged. The women I serve are wonderful, brave women who never really had a chance. Some of the situations I hear about are so heartbreaking, it makes me wonder if we've even come that far at all. But while I was sitting in the theater today waiting for the movie to start, two women walked in and sat right in front of me. One was white, the other was black. All during the movie, they laughed and cried together and as I was pulling out of the theater parking lot I saw them embracing each other before getting into their cars and leaving. That simple gesture reminded me that we have come so far, and though our society is not perfect, we're not hopeless. The movie itself was incredible and I highly recommend it. We all need these simple reminders from time to time, to show us that we really are witnessing the unfolding of an incredible story. It's not perfect, not yet anyways. But it's not without hope either.