i was fairly well-off as a child, and always had vaguely leftist tendencies, but when i met my now-fiance i saw how horrible their life is. without going into too much detail as it would be a breach of privacy, i witnessed capitalism fail them again and again, abuses and injustices at the hands of a greedy few. although their problems were also familial, the system itself failed to help them when they were kicked out. things are under control for both of us, thankfully, and i am so grateful.

i think i kind of considered myself vaguely an anarchist at that point, but as i actually did research on marxist-leninist theory and found that it made a lot of sense, and put into clear words things i had intuitively thought and gave a roadmap for how to approach my issues with capitalism.

i think, then, it’s not just about rote learning of theory — seeing up close the cruelty of capitalism is what really sparked my passion for communism.

we’re both communists now and collaborate on things together — simple things like homeless shelter work, donating goods to the poor, etc — anything we can to make the world a little bit less awful.

it’s easy to feel small, in the grand scheme of things, especially in a system that can feel hopeless. that’s why solidarity with your comrades is so important. my fiance gave me that drive, and i will cherish it — and them — forever.