Final Blog Post

 A Letter to my Niece


J,


The world that you are growing up in is not like it was when I was your age. I wish that I could say that it is better, but I truly don’t think it is yet. Hopefully, by the time you’re old enough to read this letter, that isn’t true anymore. But I have no way of knowing what the future will entail, or what events will take place between now and then.

Truly, I wish I could protect you from ever learning about the terrible things that have occurred, but I don’t think that would be fair to you. There is so much that you can learn from the past, from things that occurred before your time. While I know it will take several years for you to grow old enough to fully understand the world in which you live, I have some advice from my twenty years of life that I want to provide you with as you learn the truth of our world.

It is so easy to lose hope. There are so many things that must change in order for the world to be equal and fair for all people. While this is something that I clearly want to see, it is unfortunately something that I have never even seen our society come close to. While I want to be able to play a direct role in this fight, I am afraid that the fight will not be near its end until I am no longer able to be a part of it. While it sounds daunting, your generation is the one on which the future depends. There is so much that needs to be done; so much so that I don't even know how to put it into words. As you grow up, I hope that you pay close attention to everyone and everything around you; the world has so much that you can learn from. 

However, I say this knowing how discouraging this may be at times. You will see things that you don’t want to see, things that I hoped you would never have to witness but know that I will be unable to stop before it is too late. Please, do not let these things taint your home or dim your sense of wonder. Know that, with your effort and dedication, things will get better. Nothing in this world takes more time than change. Remember that you must see everything through until the end; only then will you see the years of pain, turmoil, and progress that you have overseen come to fruition.

Throughout your life, time will be your best friend, but it will also be your worst enemy. No matter where you are or what you're doing, it will be right there alongside you. As difficult as it may be, don’t wish it away. Embrace it. Take control of it. You are the only one who can exercise it to its fullest potential. Taking it by the reins, you will be able to use it for whatever you may wish. The ability to make change comes along with this power; you will be able to use every ounce of your being for good if you dedicate your life to fighting for both yourself and others.

I see your potential every time I look in your eyes. While the world seems big, I know that you will be able to show it that you are the one who is bigger. Hope is a beautiful thing, but it is the biggest victim of time. I know that you are resilient. Never let anything take your hope away from you. While I know the fight will never be easy, if anyone can do it, you can.

I know that you will do amazing things. I love you and will always be on your team.

Auntie Erin


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hamilton

  Will Pikus             Lin Manuel Miranda’s play “Hamilton” took Broadway by storm when it was released. Personally, I remember my parents looking into getting tickets for the show. We all realized it wasn’t worth it since tickets were over eight-hundred dollars per person. The play itself also struck me as kind of strange. I questioned why everyone was getting so excited over the ethnically swapped show. One character within the show was especially strange. King George is right where he was supposed to be the entire time. The tyrannical King is laughing maniacally after each of his songs about how “You’ll Be Back”. While this is likely an accurate depiction of King George, one big question comes to mind. Why is he still white?             As a student brought up last class, why was Hamilton’s story choses by Miranda? It’s one of the oldest whitest stories in th...
Read more

A Tale for the Time Being – "to live"

In the final third of Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, old Jiko gives Nao and her father a seemingly simple – yet to them, a difficult – task: “to live” (362). While her final request to her descendants affects them deeply because of their suicidal ideations, it is also Jiko’s final comment on Zen Bhuddism. In the practice of Zen, one must be rather than think about being in order to truly be alive, so, Jiko’s request of Nao and Haruki #2 tells them to stop worrying, stop planning, stop thinking – just to live. Neither Nao or Haruki #2 actively lived in the moment before Jiko’s death, instead, they planned for the moment they would cease being. After her death, reporters, priests, and those who admired Jiko assumed that the meaning of her final writing, just the singular character for the phrase “to live,” was complex, deep, and mysterious. However, Nao and Haruki #2 are the only ones who understood the true intention of her final word. She simply tells them to be alive. By doing s...
Read more

Finale of A Tale for the Time Being

  Emma Straus    21 st Century Literature and Time    Final 3 rd of A Tale for the Time Being    September 2022        A Tale for the Time Being brings an ending that is hopeful with a touch of realism in only a way the novel itself could accomplish. It is filled with messages that are universal to the readers, as well as the characters, such as Ruth, in the novel. The ending encapsulates both mysteries and lessons to be learned.    At the end of the diary, Ruth finds herself confused and even a bit sad. The idea of “we’ll make magic together...” comes back, and Ruth is left to many questions. Of course, when the novel began, Nao’s and Ruth’s overlapping narratives were an essential part of the story. Throughout the story, Ozeki plants metaphors and plot points for readers to understand the way in which everything in itself is connected. The ending of the novel comes with the entanglement of the metafictions and met...
Read more