Miles of Meaning: Walking Toward Justice, Identity, and Hope

In Teller of Small Fortunes, by Julie Leong, Tao can feel that something subtle has changed among the traveling group in the quiet, comfortable routine of their camp. The biscuit Kina offers her is wonderfully soft and fluffy. Tao tells Kina it’s delicious.

After sprinting through Craghorn’s darkening streets, Tao feels as if every stranger she sees is staring at her. She just needs a moment to breathe. After ducking through a curtain into a shabby little shop, she leans against the wall and tries to take a deep steadying breath.

According to QSaltLake, Millcreek's Kyle Rico hiked 800 miles of the Arizona Trail to raise funds and visibility for Utah’s trans community. He was motivated by a trans man friend of his that wanted to go to Portugal, but was stressed by the State Department’s new orders to not issue new gender markers and to revert prior changes. His friend had to scramble to update his documents.

Kyle asked himself what gives other people the power to control his friend’s life. In response, he turned his love of scenic backpacking into service. Seeking to raise $8,000, he asked people to give, even if it was one cent per mile.

On the hike, Kyle had discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation, and met ‘Sugar’ Lyla Harrod, the first trans woman to ‘triple crown.’ The thought of donating $8,000 to Genderbands helped him push through the last 100 miles to the border of Utah. He also took support from his good friend and many trans colleagues.

For the Utah trans community, Kyle has these words: ”I hope they see that there are folks like me in the community who are willing to put in the work to support them. That amidst the current climate, there are so many of us who want to see them thrive and succeed. That we understand the importance of diversity and freedom. That if they feel discouraged, they have local resources for them. At the end of the day, we aren’t doing thoughts and prayers, we are getting to work.”

In Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, by Juno Dawson, Niamh is unsettled by materializing. The intricate, spiral tiles on the floor of the foyer to the HMRC offices is hypnotic. She can’t pinpoint precisely the last time she set foot in this building.

Later, she and her friends sing at the top of their lungs as the stagger down the street, jelly-legged. From one of the flats above the shop, someone yells out at them that it’s after midnight. Niamh has to hold Elle up with one hand while carrying her heels with the other.

In international news, after a unilateral strike on Iran nuclear sites, and a subsequent retaliation strike on Al Udeid, the largest American armed forces base in the Middle East, Israela and Iran are in a tenuous ceasefire. Unprovoked attacks are not okay.

What is not being said is that having a nuclear program is not the same as having a nuclear weapons program. When nuclear sites are attacked, they could very well be, and probably are, sites designed for nuclear energy purposes. It is also not fair to say that today’s regime is the same as that of 50 years ago, and assume that because a government sponsored terrorist activities, it supports them today. That would be akin to us saying that we are still involved in the Vietnam Conflict and are continuing a genocide against communists. Each administration. like each individual deserves to be evaluated on their own merit. Anything else is an excuse for genocide.

According to some reports, the devastation was not as pervasive as first imagined, and is within three months of being rebuilt, not knocking Iran out of the capacity to build nuclear weapons as expected. They were still three years away from being to have that technology. Instead, this unprovoked attack in the midst of negotiations may prove to be a catalyst to put more energy and effort into such a program.

I have always been an advocate of doing away with nuclear weapons altogether. The amount of civilian casualties and long term impacts it will create in damaging life on this planet are insurmountable. We have to say "No to Nukes."

There are some who are of the opinion that because Israel is an ally and was attacked by Iran, then we should take the side of Israel in this conflict. What about the tens of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians who are being murdered by Israel? Who is to take their side? We should be holding only the guerillas to account for their terrorism, not destroy the lives of anyone who lives within a few hundred miles of them. This should be a special ops or policing effort, not what it has become. We cannot condone violence by joining in the brawl. We must hold the Israeli government accountable for its crimes, and we must abide by the rules and conventions of the United Nations. We must say "No to Genocide."

In Like a Love Story, by Abdi Nazemian, when he starts his senior year of high school tomorrow, it’s his his last chance to not be visible. He feels that no man that has as many versions of monopoly as Abbas has could ever be his father. Yanking out his braces, he sees the ruby red blood on his nails.

The card labeled "#75 Love" asserts that the gay community is fighting for love. It’s who they are and it’s thier legacy. “We are brothers and sister, mentors and students, and together we are limitless and whole.”

In a bit of hopeful news, Caroline Dias Goncalves, the 19 year-old U of U student that was arrested and detained by ICE in Colorado, was released on bond Friday after having spent fifteen days in detention.

In a world that often feels torn by conflict, fear, and erasure, stories like these remind us that resilience and solidarity are powerful acts of defiance. Whether it’s Tao navigating a shifting world with quiet grace, Kyle hiking hundreds of miles for his trans community, or the fierce magic and friendship in Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, each narrative is a testament to the strength found in showing up—for ourselves, for one another, and for justice. Amid escalating global tensions and the ever-urgent fight against injustice and genocide, we must center humanity over politics, people over power. From the vibrant defiance of queer love in Like a Love Story to the fight to protect innocent lives around the globe, the message rings clear: we are not here for silence or survival alone—we are here to thrive, to speak, to act. Now more than ever, we must be the voices, the allies, the changemakers we’ve been waiting for.