Javi goes West

Hi Friends,

As I get older and continue to learn about myself, I have realized I have a deep appreciation for the outdoors. Whether it is going for a quick walk on a trail here in town or traveling to West Texas to Big Bend National Park. There's something beautiful about being out and bathing in the beauty the world has to offer. This past May a group of friends and I took a camping trip to Big Bend and it was the bomb.

My last visit to Big Bend was during the Texas Hold Her High Instameet in partnership with Anheuser-Busch InBev and the National Parks Foundation. As founder of IgAustinTexas, I along with my team co-hosted an Instameet that brought together folks from Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, San Marcos, and of course Austin. To say the least it was beautiful but I was “working”. So, this time it was just about hanging out and not having a worry in the world.

We camped for several days in the Rio Grande camping site and ventured out to the rest of the park from there. We relished in the flowing river, jumping from the hot springs to the Rio Grande and back. We climbed up the Lost Mine Trail, took several breaks along the way but we did it as a team connecting along the way. The lack of Internet made this even more enjoyable because it created space. Space from the events that were taking place along the border.

But, there was a big but in my mind the whole time. Here we are a group of extremely blessed individuals that can be at the border with Mexico. While the current administration is separating families seeking to enter this country in hopes of finding refuge. Like fuck man.. Instead of helping these people we are taking kids away from their parents and leaving impressions on their lives. It hit home even more because I was one of those kids. Many people don’t know I was an undocumented child for a couple of years. I became a naturalized citizen as a adult.

And now I’m here looking at things from the other side feeling helpless and mad. America is not what I want it to be but, then I realize America has never been the America that they painted. This America was never great and needs to be great, great for everyone. I have often strayed from being political in my message but this is crap. I have to be better and be more present at both the local and national level of politics. It's up to me further educate myself about the history of this country.