Opinion: A word of hope

We’ve always learned about history and examined it from a distance. Paragraphs in textbooks explain to us the triumphs and tragedies of the past so we don’t make those same mistakes in the future. Our answers were always there, on the pages that we flip through to study for tests. But life doesn’t work this way. 

We are living in a history textbook, the characters inside the stories we will tell our grandchildren one day, looking back at a time that was painful yet over with. But that time isn’t until decades later, and right now our lives seem as if it is hidden behind a fog. We were so used to a predictable schedule, day after day and that was our normal life.

When an earthquake of changes rippled through our planet, as humans we faltered yet we prospered again to rise above the unpredictable. Now, we consider this our normal. Staring at names on computer screens, talking only when absolutely necessary. Politicians pointing fingers at each other in blame while we watch to do the same. Calling for a change that is long overdue, and striving for the better. The deaths of those leaving us in shock yet it is not so surprising anymore. 

We do not want to look back at what we’ve been through because we fear the pain is too much to bear. We only look forward and march on because the future is what is important. The future will bring us joy. The future will be better. The future promises everything yet nothing. We cannot predict anything about the future. That is why we are here. But it is hope for the future that allowed us to march on and follow through, without giving up anywhere in the middle.

It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed when it feels like change after change, there is only more change to come. This change may be for the better or for the worse, but either way it is not easy to get used to. But understand that we are not alone, that there are many people out there who feel the same way as we do. If we are the outstretched hand for each other, there is nothing that we cannot take on. 

So let’s hope for a time when we can wait for hours and hours for a ride among crowds in a busy Disneyland. Let’s look forward to a time when we can take our masks off and breathe in the fresh breeze passing by, our friends and family near us. Because together we can show the world how strong we are.