We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

—Native American proverb

I’ve always loved nature. I grew up in rural Wisconsin on an old tomato and dairy farm. I spent every waking moment I could sitting under my willow tree, running through the dense-swampy woods, or sitting atop the mound in the backyard simply basking in the wind and sun. My favorite flower was always the dandelion. Others called it a weed but I saw something too beautiful to be a weed. I saw resilience. I saw the ability to grow between two slabs of concrete; to grow when all else stood against you. In those formative moments looking down at those flowers sprinkled across the entire farm, I knew in my heart that I would be the dandelion. I would rise up against the injustice of the world even when all else was against me.