I am guided not by religious beliefs, but by a moral compass that points right; that is, it points to doing what is “right”, compassionate and equitable. I live my life with the awareness of the injustice all around us, but my actions must endeavor for social justice. My love for children calibrates my moral compass and guides me when I feel tired. My hope that the next generation can be better than the last makes me believe that even the unattainable is attainable. For the last twelve-years I have worked with children who are sexually or physically abused. Some children are mere months old, others I’ve seen multiple times over the years. A person cannot be the same after seeing children fighting for their lives, anguished faces trying to survive trauma, or a child whispering that they don’t want to be raped anymore. I have cried behind closed doors, willing an infant to survive from being shaken too violently. I have wept when a mother failed her most basic role as a protector by allowing men to sexually abuse her young daughter for money. I have yelled and cursed our criminal justice system when it blatantly exposes inequalities, when money will let a defendant walk to freedom. I’m angry. I try to do right for those children.