As the quarantine and my daily blog draw to a close, I figured now is a good time for reflection. Summer is just now starting to begin and it was a long spring cooped up indoors. I’m sure we all have cabin fever and we’re all ready to get out of the house, but the pandemic is far from over. 2020 has been a difficult year but it’s also been a good time to pause and reflect on recent events and think about the future. What did you learn during your time in quarantine and how do you want your future to look?
There is so much civil unrest going on in the country right now. We’re all sick of hearing about politics. We’re all sick of fighting. We’re all sick of inept politicians doing little to resolve these conflicts while living lives much more comfortably than our own. What will the election season look like in 2020? I’m not thrilled with any of our options. This is supposed to be the greatest country in the world and we’ve narrowed our options down to two creepy, old white men. Political reform does not happen overnight, but I’m confident that as a nation we will continue to improve and we will continue to adapt our legislation. My hope is that we start valuing the people and the environment more.
This lockdown has taught me that while there are people in the world sowing the seeds of disunity and encouraging squabbling, the overall majority of us want good things for this country. I’m encouraged by heart warming stories of people helping one another during the pandemic. I’m encouraged by the recent protests demanding racial equality in this country, but I’m ashamed that it took so many deaths for action to be taken. Can we make 2020 the year we start prioritizing what really matters?
People matter more than property.
The environment matters more than the economy.
Our health matters more than the hours we log at work.
This experience taught me that I need to prioritize my health more. It also taught me that we need to prioritize our healthcare system more. I will forever advocate for better health care. I will continue to advocate for social justice as crises like these disproportionately affect people of color. This is unacceptable in a civilized society. This pandemic also taught me that life is short and though I could get caught up in all of the politics, anger, fear, and unrest what I really want more than anything is to spend a little time with my family, to eat good food, and of course to sit by the river and take time to reflect.
What have you learned during the quarantine? Are you optimistic about the future? Despite all of the hardships, it’s not too late to make 2020 our year.
Stay hopeful friends. And stay safe.
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Health and healthcare is a big issue for my family. And racism must stop. It will take alot of work but it has to stop.
The change has to start at the top. We desperately need a new president. It will never be perfect, but we will be headed on the right road as we work on healing.