I want to be a part of the solution.

I don't know if anybody reads these things. But I felt like writing something.

I'm Christopher. I'm from NYC. I'm 31. I'm straight and single. (Ladies, come talk to me, ) I'm White and Hispanic. I'm middle class. I'm Atheist with a Catholic background (aka, my family is huge). I graduated from NYU. I work in high-end restaurants. I'm always busy, yet always broke. I have a full work schedule and social calendar that somehow never leaves me feeling satisfied — or any richer, for that matter.

I've been aware of DU since 2004. I read articles and spent some time lurking off and on. I never participated. I don't participate in anything political, really. That's something I want to change. I thought I'd just grow out of being a liberal, so I didn't take any action. Churchill said, "if you're not a conservative by 30, you have no brains." I believed him.

I turned 30 and I seem to be moving in the opposite direction. Since the beginning of the presidential campaign two years ago, I've been wondering what I can do to feel like I am making a difference — against my own desire to be apolitical and just get on with life. Political activity often seems pointless in New York, where you're surrounded by Democrats anyway, and you don't feel like your little self really matters. I even saw the Occupy movement rise and fade into obscurity right before my very eyes, without lifting a finger. But I started to feel like a part of the problem and not the solution. I don't necessarily want to be a protestor, but I can't avoid feeling like I need to do something.

So I wanted to let you all know how important this site was for me, when I was feeling politically or religiously alienated, or when I wanted to share in the joy of some liberal victory or another, or when I was tired of so-called "objectivity", wanting to cut through the bullshit and just get the news that was important to me from my perspective.

Call it drinking the kool-aid or whatever, but sometimes you need to be among your own. More and more, I've realized DU is filled with people of my own kind, people who think like me. People who care about the future and aren't satisfied with the status quo. People who are tolerant, progressive, intelligent, and diverse in composition. In other words, real patriotic Americans.

We don't always agree, but I know you all have your hearts in the right place. I hope to add my little voice to the fray and stop sitting on the sidelines. As I figure out just how I can best make a difference, I'll be hanging out here online and absorbing, thinking, and finally, taking some kind of action.

Thanks to anyone who read this rambling post.