by Alexa Erickson, Collective Evolution

Tiny homes have become a social movement we can’t ignore. People all over the world are choosing to downsize the space they live in for a happier life.

In the U.S., for instance, the typical American home is around 2,600 square feet, but the typical tiny home is only between 100 and 400 square feet. They come in all shapes, sizes, and forms, but they all have one thing in common: they allow simpler living in a smaller, more efficient environment.

People have joined this movement for many reasons, whether it be concerns over the environment or their own finances, or the desire for more time and freedom. Most Americans spend 1/3 to 1/2 of their income on their homes, which means they spend 15 years working just to pay for it. This has caused 76 percent of Americans to live paycheck to paycheck. But for what? People who turn to this movement are done trying to prove themselves. They just just want a lifestyle that can make them feel good from the inside out.

by Alexa Erickson, Collective Evolution

As a child, I was appalled by many of the events that I read about in my history books. The civil, social, and economical injustices confused and angered me. I felt for the millions of people who were victims of such wrongdoings, yet grateful for the ones who risked their lives to make our world, and my home, the United States, a more peaceful place.

As an adult, I can’t help but feel like my home has taken so many steps backward.

Despite the fact that it’s 2016, it’s hard not to turn on the news, flip through Facebook, or look at your phone’s news apps without being informed of yet another police shooting. Police killed at least 102 unarmed black people in 2015, nearly two each week.

In 2016, police have killed more than 130 black people, according to a project by the Guardian. Just this past Monday, Korryn Gaines became the 9th black woman killed by police this year.

Police murder people on a daily basis in the United States, of all races, too.