United (?) States of America
The events of the last couple weeks have been really hard. This country is full of pain and sadness. We are being flooded with images and videos that all feel so heavy. It is difficult to figure out how we managed to get to this point. We were all so hopeful that 2021 would be different, better; but so far, it has been more of the same. I am just hoping that maybe this is just the residual effects of 2020 and maybe by the end of January, it will be fresh and new and shiny. I also want to acknowledge the great things that happened the last few months: a COVID vaccine, more citizens voting than ever before, people showing up and speaking out, and that's just a few!
And before I go too far into this, I want to make something really clear, it is important to be to be aware of what is going on in the world, but you do NOT have to take on more than you can handle right now. If you need to take a break from everything that is going on, you can. You will be no good to anyone if you have sacrificed your mental health. What is important, is that when you are able to, you come back to it. We all have a responsibility to use our voices and stand up for what we believe in.
Some easy ways to show support are:
1) Giving to charities like the American Civil Liberties Union (https://www.aclu.org/), Together Rising (https://togetherrising.org/), or The Trevor Project (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/) who are working to help people in all different situations.
2) Write to your representatives, both local, state, and congressional. An easy way to do that is by using Resistbot (https://resist.bot/), it only takes a few minutes and it will craft and send out letters to your representatives on your behalf in regards to whatever issues you would like to discuss.
3) Volunteer at charities, shelters, or wherever you can use your skills to help out your community. Donating gently used or new items that you are no longer using is also another way to help out. The local food banks are always looking for goods as well.
4) Follow, share and support social media people and pages who are trying to spread factual information such as So You Want To Talk About (https://www.facebook.com/soyouwanttotalkabout) for social justice topics or Brene Brown (https://www.facebook.com/brenebrown) for mental health topics.
I also want to say how proud of you I am. I am proud of you for doing your research, for being here, for wanting to do what is right, for looking out for others and yourself. Keep you the good work.
And as always, We Got You.
Kristen
