I remember when I was younger, the skyline of Denver was considerably underwhelming. Now, even after living in New York City for four months, I find the skyline intriguing with its extended architecture and busy shining lights. Perhaps that’s the inevitable way life moves, constantly changing, always evolving. There’s this certainty about life that I find so reassuring; just as buildings will be built, torn down, then built again, so will we.
- I’ve Learned To Walk In Hope of Tomorrow
-
Illustrate that beauty in your mind, the charm of rebirth, and how each time we as individuals, or we as a people, are torn down, we rebuild so graciously. We are always learning, changing, and growing into brighter beings. Along our own journeys, when our brightness is passed down to future generations, and they become brighter than us, we become better. That’s our superpower, elevating as high as we can, to be as bright and free as possible, by nurturing each other with knowledge, love and light.
A changing society happens without the passing of a law or processing of a court case. Growth comes from within ourselves, it’s the singular thing about life that we all have our own control over. We don’t have to ask for permission to dig deep within ourselves to heal hidden trauma. We are free to form our own ideas and morals. We are afforded the luxury of raising our children to be open and kind. Life provides us with this little gift of inescapable change, and it’s saving us from ourselves.
One year ago, I transferred out of my school in New York City, coming back home to Colorado, to what I assumed to be the same place I had always lived in. I was dreading the ordinary, the routine, the thought that it wasn’t my time to fly yet. My entire world flipped before then already, when my sweet grandfather passed away the same day I moved to New York City. My ordinary was now so unfamiliar and I was so terrified to come back to it.
Each and every day I am overwhelmed by the beauty of change and what it has brought to me. Clarity, stability, love, with an abundance of all of it. Through it, I’ve learned. I understand the delicacy of life and tenderness in one’s heart, and I try to honor it through my words and intentions. Change encourages my growth and my growth encourages my success. It’s a never-ending cycle of divine intervention, that of which is magic we all possess.
In that magic, therefore, I’ve learned to walk in hope of tomorrow. I’ve seen the way people have changed, grown, and think now. I’ve seen the way people have elevated in the last seven months alone, and how those changes have inspired their families, neighbors, and friends. Collectively, we are in a different place than any of us used to be in, and together we look forward to progressing more. I find that incredible.
- Change Is Certain, So Is Uncertainty
-
Kids today are quicker to ask important questions and not believe traditional narratives about history. Teachers today encourage difficult conversations and thorough comprehension. We live in a society that has progressed so much that we quite frankly don’t know how to stop. Despite the government we may be forced to endure and despite the lingering hate, defense, and prejudice we inquire, the people will always be adaptive and 10 steps ahead.
Day in and day out we are changing. I’ve seen happiness, sadness, anger, awe, grief, and everything in between. I’ve also seen miracles, and just as change is certain, so is uncertainty. Life will knock us down. Work, politics, and our own broken hearts will often kick us to the ground, and each time we learn to remodel ourselves, elegantly, through the changes.
Denver’s foundation is stronger now more than ever. The buildings are taller, the streets are louder, and the lights are brighter. I am no longer competing with what I feel should be ordinary, and I am basking in my new reality. Society is changing whether we know it or not, evolve with it. With us.
As for tonight, admire the twinkle of your city’s skyline. It won’t shine like that forever, but you can be certain that it will only get brighter.