2011 Me: A Letter

 Dear me,

    Today you starting your first year of high school. It's not going to be bad today, but I'd like to give you advice that I wish I had known or events I wish I had known about when I was you. These four things will not only help you in school, but life itself.

    One: If you don't understand something, ASK. You're probably not the only one who is confused. There are literally no stupid questions. Even if you ask the question and someone does call you dumb for it, you're not. You just don't grasp things as easily as the person who said something. However, you will be the braver one. Because instead of putting someone down for not understanding something (which I'm sure they've not understood something either), you spoke up and not only helped yourself, but maybe to more shy classmate in the back of the class.    

    Two: On October 29th, your world will change. You know it was already changing, but this day things change as if it were a TV show. On October 31st, yes, Halloween, Pawpaw will be buried. Your hero. My hero. Our hero. He has cancer and has been hiding it. You will be crushed. You feel as if the life has been taken out of you and you MUST let that show. You must show your emotions. Feel them. It's okay. You do not have to be the strong one. You are the youngest, but you are not the strongest one. None of you, us, are the "strongest" one. 

    Three: Join clubs, speak to people, even the so-called popular crowd. I promise you, even though we didn't listen to Mommy about this, it's true that the "popular crowd" are just like you. They have insecurities, they have battles within themselves that they tell no one about. They're just trying to make it through high school, through life, just as you are. Being popular means nothing, but being yourself and showing who you are is everything.

    Four: It's not high school you miss, it's the memories you made and could have made that you miss. What would have happened if you did join a club or spoke to more people? It's seeing your classmates laughing in the halls with their friends to their inside jokes. It's the pep rallies where all grades are gathered and you get to see generations coming together. It's the dance you don't go to or the one you do. It's the smile of your favorite teacher. 

    You'll still learn a lot after graduating. You'll laugh and cry, even laugh until you cry. Just make a promise to remember the people who grew up with you. 

Sincerely,

You (MSHS 2015 graduate)

Covid: Why I decided to receive the vaccine

(That fact I feel I have to explain my reasoning really says a lot in itself.)

My views are never political. I hate politics to the point I don't keep up with which side stands for what. All I know is that the LGBTQ+ community is being hated by one side or the other and same for Black Lives Matter. 

Politically speaking, the arguments that are used against getting the vaccine: "the government can't control me", "I've lived this long," "We've had a 'killer' virus every election"....so on and so forth. But yet some of the people saying that are also some of the ones that get flu shots every year. 

Religiously speaking, "My full faith is in God he can protect me." Is the reasoning I hear all over Facebook, Instagram, face to face, etc. But yet, you say that God himself put doctors on earth to create medicines and cures. I do have faith in God but I also want him to know that I do fear taking the virus to someone else. I do fear that. And he does know and he does know that taking that vaccine will ensure that guilt will not be there if someone around may get it.

Covid-19, Covid, Corona Virus, Covis (what my dear grandmother says), or whatever you call it (and by the way it isn't "the Chinese virus" that racists are calling it as a way to spread racism) isn't a different story. There's still one side versus another.

However, this isn't a me versus you. Or at least it shouldn't be. As a human being I want to try to keep others safe and although there's been a virus/disease scare almost every year, why would I allow that to make me not take precautions in protecting my family and friends? 

My daddy's a truck driver who hails Campbell's soup, meaning he was an essential worker in the middle of a pandemic. He was touching diesel pumps, going from one truck yard to another and back. He isn't even long-haul, but yet he put his health at risk to not only take care of his family, but also helped yours. Why did I not want the shot sooner to help lower his risk? 

My mama is Type 1 diabetic and has been through hell and back again. And yeah, she may have been extremely blessed to have been so healthy for so long without (knock on wood) any severe illness, why would I risk me bringing it to her? All it takes is one time. 

"Well covid is over now." Is it? Is it actually over or have so many people taken the vaccine and that's what's caused numbers to drop? Because people are still developing the virus. It's still airborne. It still exists. 

"Better late than never" is a phrase that's been used a lot by me as an excuse for me to not have to choose side. I never want to let anyone down or have them disappointed. Although now I wish I didn't wait so long to decide. Because after all, it's my decision, my life, and if I walk alone, than so be it.