First off, don't think I'm not grieving about Korra being over, I just haven't seen it yet (I don't want to cry twice in one night).

ANYWHO, I just watched The Colbert Report finale. There were a lot of feels. And don't worry, no political message in this blag entry.

When I moved here five years ago, I came from Venezuela. For those who don't know, during the time that I lived there (2000-2009) I lived through a coup, the Venezuelan government threatening my home country, lack of basic food and medical needs, many of my friends being assaulted and almost murdered. Colombia wasn't much better. Even though I only lived in Colombia for three years, my parents lived through three political candidates being murdered, the newspaper where they both worked being bombed to nothing, and more. My uncle was murdered, my grandfather lost all his land leaving my mom's family almost penniless when she was in her teens. A car exploded a block from where my parents had parked their car. Had they been a block closer to the car, I would've been left an orphan at age three.

What did all this have in common? Not much freedom of speech. In Colombia, my parents being journalists meant that they could be targeted at any moment if they were to delve into investigative journalism. In Venezuela, I saw news stations being brought down, religious and secular places vandalized, and became paranoid of leaving my own house. Just this February, I spend a week not knowing if my friends had died protesting in the riots because the media in Venezuela didn't cover any of what was happening.

Why do I mention all this? I want y'all to be thankful. I have been amazed and grateful to live in a country where someone like Stephen Colbert can have a humorous political show and say things and not be killed or shut down or be forced to flee. I am amazed that a man can have a political caricature for nine years, and can end his show when he wants to.

We had a person like that in Colombia. Jaime Garzón was a comedian who basically had his own Daily Show/Colbert Report hybrid for almost a decade. His life was ended in 1999 by paramilitary forces, not just because he didn't shy away from the truth, but because he engaged in humanitarian efforts. I was four when my parents brought me to the front of our building. I remember waving a small white handkerchief at a black car that passed by the streets of Bogotá that day.

All I'm saying here is to think about that. The freedom of speech that y'all have. That a satirist can end his show by his own will, not by the bullet of an assassin. Don't take these things for granted, because they matter.

With that, I'm off to watch the Korra season finale and cry again.