Be determined, this is what I tell myself every morning. In the face of much adversity, I have accomplished more than I could have dreamed possible. And I am proud of myself. I have never worked harder than I have in the last two years. I have started a business, went back to school to get my adult teaching certification, have continued to teach, and create classes at UC Berkeley’s IDC (International Diploma Certification Program), consulted for some amazing companies AND co-founded a nonprofit called The Trident Project. I’ve also lost my husband of 22 years to a sudden heart attack and have been raising my very busy, and more often then not mischievous, teenage daughters.
Needless to say, I am exhausted.
However, I am determined to not just endure, but to thrive. I remember being so thankful that my daughter could drive, so I could work more, then she crashed and totalled her car after only nine weeks, and I was back to carpool duties. I founded The Trident Project with Andrew, and my younger daughter Siena, last summer and weeks before our enormous fund raiser, my husband died, so it was cancelled. Obstacles large and small have been in my path, but I have not allowed them to stop me from achieving my goals and dreams. No matter what happens I remain determined. My days are a whirlwind of activity as I lay a foundation for my future and work to support my family.
The Trident Project is my antidote to the constant philanthropy work I have done since I was a child. I have never not been involved with charitable organizations. From Girl Scouts to National Charity League. However, this nonprofit speaks directly to my heart as it works to reduce pollution caused by plastics in our oceans and eradicate the commercial distribution of microfibers that pollute our drinking water.
I love everything about the ocean and knowing that in 20 years it will be full of more plastic than fish, is not something I can stand by and watch happen without taking action. I will do anything to help our dying oceans because without healthy oceans nothing else I do matters. Nothing. I will not go into all of the research I have done and the studies I have read, but I will tell you, it is startling and the most urgent problem of our era.
When I was a girl I would spend at least part of every summer in Vancouver, British Columbia, and for a few years my uncles had a boat. We would cruise around the beautiful waters and I would play backgammon on one of the many pristine beaches with my Uncle Basil. Those summer days rank as possibly the high point of my childhood and early adulthood. Later, I would spend most of my time in the snow, skiing Mt. Bachelor in college, and then Tahoe with my family, and more recently I’ve fallen in love with the melted snow and sailing in San Fransisco Bay.
Spending so many days of my life in the natural world, in melted or unmelted water, has made me the person I am today, strong, calm, and focused. So, it is my mission to preserve this for myself, my children and their children, and it is what I will dedicate much of my life to in the future.
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Love and blessings to all.
Sydney 