It has been a very long few months and I have learned much about myself since the election results came back here in the US. First, it is possible to survive without Amazon. In fact, this has been one of the positives that have come from the election of a felon to the highest office in the land. Second, I have a mean streak. I would love to say that I take no pleasure in saying “I told you so” to the countless people who voted with their racism, but those words are currently sustaining me as the stock market and my retirement savings plummet, when I am in constant fear of losing my right to gender affirming care (just see what happens when you take away my HRT) as well as my right to vote, and when I witness food prices skyrocket. That is only a fraction of the dumpsters currently burning, and people are suffering. I soon will be suffering as a result of right wing extremism. And I am really, really angry. Antivaxxers learned what measles really is, and MAGA wondered why they were losing their jobs because they weren’t DEI (even though many were) and their health insurance (yes Obamacare is the Affordable Care Act). “We told you so” tumbles out of our lips as we trudge to the unemployment office which isn’t staffed because someone cut their jobs.

It is time to let go of the self righteous indignation that has been churning since he took office. It is time to proactively work for the ideals and ideas that have made me who I am today, a hopefully compassionate person who just wants to contribute to society in some meaningful way. I have to take a step back, wean myself from the constant need to check Instagram for a nugget of news, and focus on doing my part. In just five minutes I used 5calls.org to contact my representatives, I have discovered the magic of Costco and have taught a few free yoga classes. I consistently research companies before purchasing so as to avoid supporting any business that supported our current administration. And I go to work and attempt to teach students how to think critically, and analyze the written word as I believe education is the key to our success as a nation. Now it is time to breathe, to trust that we are ultimately good underneath the layers of hatred and greed, and to continue to do my part to fight for our dying democracy.