As a teen, I admit that the future doesn’t always seem bright. In fact, I have a hard time taking the idea of an extended future seriously. However, it is vitally important that we do, because every time we joke about not being here in a few years, we eliminate hope. The more we say, “This won’t matter in five years,” “Why do we have to do this when everything is burning?” “This doesn’t matter because I’m not even going to be able to get a job,” the more harm we do. The reality is, we can fix it. It will take a lot of work, but it is possible. It starts with small changes on a wide scale and a change of thinking.
The root of our problem, at least in the United States, is that our identity sits on an individual level. We think about how we are, what we like, what we can do, but not what the whole can do. As they say, many hands make light work and the small things matter. The more we prioritize working together, the more we can organize, the more we can accomplish. However, hope and motivation are incredibly important to make this all work. Without them, mental health continues to plummet and work stops at a time when progress is essential to keep up with.
The more that we say that the world won’t be here in a few years, the more we diminish the precious hope that we have. We live in hard times. There is room for grief and I give you permission to feel it, but it is also time to get to work. It’s time to pick ourselves up, dust off the dirt and ready ourselves. If every single person said “other people will do it,” nothing would get done. We can only sit still for so long, because the longer we do, the more our problems worsen.
Right now, in this moment, what do you want for the future? This could be societally, or simply how you want to live as an adult. Is this possible without a world to live in? Make it possible! Today, I want you to get to know your community. Say hello to a friend, to an acquaintance and to someone you don’t know at all. Let someone borrow your pencil. Make jokes and laugh. Make art that is bad and redo it until it isn’t. Dance and be joyful. Do the work and make it work you love, because we only get one life and one planet and you don’t want it to end with us.
