September 5, 2024

“A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall.” I’m scared to exist in this world. There are guns everywhere. Mass shootings are everywhere. Ingrained in my mind is the lockdown practice we did in elementary, middle, and high school. My whole life has been learning to hide in case someone shoots up my school. Focusing more energy into staying alive in school than thriving in it. Have we given up on thriving? Is the most we can do to survive? I fear the answer to this. I fear that too much of my life is surviving. I fear thriving is no longer an option.

On an unrelated note, the systems are coming crashing down. We have been talking about this for quite a while, knowing that the collapse is coming. It is here. The way our society has been corruptly functioning is falling apart, and we are ready to transform the system. We are ready to abolish oppressive culture and to embrace one another with open arms. To be seen is to be in community. To be in community is to be loved and cared for. The collapse always seemed far away and now it’s here. It is happening right now. And we are mobilizing and pulling down what does not serve us. We are protecting and standing with each other. We stand with people on the other side of the earth, because they are part of this collapse. And because we are all humans. We must care for each other. Is a better world possible? This I don’t know. I want to say it is but I’m not sure if I believe it yet. My efforts will still be put towards a better world, it’s just hard for me to believe it myself.