What I took away from 2 0 1 2 (part I)

  Here it is...that time of year again.  Christmas decorations everywhere and knowing that a new year is upon us is very much realized.  Even though the years always seem to fly by right before they end, in actuallity the year has been rather long.  There have been ups, big ups, and downs, big downs.  Every day is a new day to realize something new about yourself, the ones you love, things you didn't know, and things that you thought you knew.  Some lessons have been realized, learned and put into play.  Some lessons have been realized and ignored.  Some lessons have been realized and are just taking a little longer to be put into action. 

  This year marks my 15+ years enduring very frequent migraines.  While I've suffered from them for many years, I have not always been in a position to do something about them.  Dealing with these migraines has taught me that the road to recovery is not easy.  The journey will be tough, long, and painful, but the only thing I can do is keep going, keep trying to find a solution and help others along the way.  This past year showed me that America has turned into a very shallow and empty place.   In a society where ass is more appreciated than class, where ignorance and hate outweigh common sense and compassion, the realization is that the American Dream is no longer to educate yourself and become successful through hard work and dedication, but to get rich as fast as possible and hopefully do it by stepping on as many people as you can preferably with an audience.

  Little girls don't want to be the first woman president, they want to be the first woman in front of the camera for the next hottest video/reality show/fight video.  Little boys no longer want to be  educated doctors, they want to be the next rap star/multi-million dollar athlete/thug.  2012 has shown me that it's the "In" thing to try to emulate the woman on the cover of the grocery store magazine, even if it will cause debt, as long as it means keeping up with the Jones'/celebrities/faux celebrities.  2012 has shown me that racism is very much alive, real, and with the help of social media...very in everyone's face.  When an unarmed teenager is killed for no reason other than being in the wrong place in the wrong time, compassion, justice, and accountability take a backseat to racial profiling, assumptions, and a division amongst the people.  I have seen how an election can stir up so many intense emotions and how so many people can have so many different viewpoints regarding the same topics.

  2012 showed me that I am getting older and as a result people around me are getting older, which means more and more people I know will be leaving this earth.  2012 showed me how those far away from me will never be far from my heart.  I lost women I've known my entire life, both personally and mentally.  I lost a Godmother, an auntie, and an idol, and they hurt me to the core.  Losing my family was very hard for me and not something that I could ever get used to.  2012 showed that even during the holidays, the world is still revolving and people are still going to attempt drastic measures to deal with their issues and when that happens innocent people are affected.  2012 showed me that gun laws need to be tightened as well as mental health being addressed.

  2012 showed me that with all the bad, there is still a lot of good.  With all the social media that has the ability to create hostile environments, there are social media outlets that do more good than bad.  Pinterest became a very addicting outlet for me.  I like the idea of strangers sharing and helping one another without ever having to know anything about the person they're helping.  When a bus driver is harrassed for no good reason, a community can come together in her defense.


Part I...hey it was a long year!