We’ve made it to 2022 after being stretched to the limit by yet another year of pandemic scares, economic struggles, and racial tensions. I don’t know about y’all but it feels like the universe is replaying the same loop. We have yet to figure out how to get past this sequence of events. The entire world is experiencing a major shift and no matter how much we pray for things to “go back to normal” it will never be the same.

Sorry to break it to you but we are long overdue for something new.

Many of us are sick and tired of being sick and tired of how things were. The consistent chaos of our “new norm” is an opportunity to reshape the world around us. It’s a chance to create a society that embraces differences and encourages unity versus one that utilizes division and oppression as a means to separate the masses and keep us fighting amongst ourselves.

Our communities have been continuously torn apart between the haves and the have nots. We are in constant beef with our neighbor. It’s privileged versus the disenfranchised. The rich versus the poor. So much so that even as an unprecedented virus rampages across the globe the vaccinated and unvaccinated are at odds. Don’t you think it’s time we bring an end to this separation and establish a new world built around the fundamentals of equality, equity, and unity instead of continuing to allow the powers that be to use their wealth, resources, and influence to keep us socially distant?

We are out of touch with the true human connection.

We live in a world where we tear our brothers and sisters down over things as minuscule as the complexion of our skin, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or whether or not we rock designer brands. This shit has to stop and it needs to start with us. We are the majority. We dictate the culture. Instead of being brainwashed by the world around us let’s make a conscious effort to be the real change we want to see.

I don’t think we fully grasp how significant this moment is. There has never been a time such as this! We are ‘Neo’ and this is our glitch in The Matrix and we are left with two choices. Do we take the red pill and step into the unknown to reclaim our future or take the blue pill and continue to live the same monotonous, disillusioned existence we’ve lived for the last some odd years?

I know which pill I’m taking.

In the years leading up to covid, the majority of us were living a facade. The entirety of our lives has been consumed by spending hours commuting to and from tedious jobs, maintaining relationships with the minimal amount of effort, and faking an “envy-worthy” social life for the gram. Why would we ever want to go back to how things used to be?

The pandemic busted through these norms like a tsunami and destroyed every false sense of identity we had by bringing everything we ever knew to a complete standstill, forcing us to dig deeper within ourselves to understand what life is truly about.

We cannot take this moment for granted.

This new year is our chance at redemption. The possibility of rising from the ashes of the last two daunting and tumultuous years better than we entered should be enough to put a battery in all of our backs and propel us forward into a new frontier. No longer can we hide behind dangerous phrases like “this is how it’s always been done.” The pandemic showed us we must innovate and adapt to survive in trying times. Let’s keep that same energy as we move forward and create new systems on not only a personal and professional level but a societal level as well. Systems that produce a culture that supports fairness and inclusion for all of its people no matter their background. One where individualism is replaced by community and ignorance is replaced by understanding.

There’s no more room for excuses.

This is bigger than the political party’s affiliations and class status. In the words of one of the greatest Civil Rights leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.”

Many of us have awakened and it’s too late for us to be put back to sleep by the government and corporate interests’ mind control. Our eyes have been opened! I believe that even in this chaos we are closer than ever to a real substantial and tangible change. But we must keep our foot on their necks. This year is the year we begin to reimagine and rebuild into something new. A different world than the one we’re used to, one we are long overdue for.