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My heart aches for so many. For my country. For our world. Our country is at a severe crossroads. 

I woke up this morning fearing for my husband and friends who are government workers; I worry that campaign promises will be true, jobs will be taken away, and families will suffer.

I worry for my friends and family who identify LGBTQ.

I worry for all minorities. 

I worry for humanity, that we have forgotten what we have in common.

I worry for women like me who need help for infertility.

I worry for women who, like me, needed to use methotrexate for an ectopic pregnancy.

I worry for my daughter’s future.

I worry for military families who have anxiety about where their family members could be and what they could do.

I worry for poor people who will lose support and services.

I worry we will cease to be a democracy.

I worry laws will only matter for some.

I worry women will lose the rights that they have gained in the last 100 years.

I worry that my journalism students will be targeted as part of the distrust of the media.

I worry that more school shootings will be a reality.

I worry we will never see peace and divides and distrust will only get deeper.

I worry for our environment and that we see more dry spells, unseasonably warm days, and volatile weather worldwide.

I worry for the world of education. 

I think about teaching Night to my sophomores last year and going to the Holocaust museum. I think about how threats about gathering up immigrants does not sound that different than gathering up Jews and putting them in ghettos and then transporting them to concentration camps. 

So what do I do with all of these worries? I am gentle with myself today. Luckily, I have not had to really “teach”. I am distracted, and I can’t grade. I let myself write. I let myself get the emotions, the feelings out.

I let my favorite people inspire me. Mary Miele, an educator and consultant, shared on her Instagram today to write down what you value, to let it give you light and energy, to get involved in it.

I think about my family and statistics about how small people’s worlds are… most people do not travel far from their home. Many never leave their state or a neighboring state. One important lesson I gained from my Jesuit education is that your world changes when you widen it. My world became bigger when I volunteered in the Ville, in Mexico, and with the Native Americans in Wyoming. My world became bigger when I became a military spouse and traveled to Wyoming, Maryland, and Texas and when my husband served in Iraq and Afghanistan. As my exposure to the world increased, my ideas about the world and its people grew. 

I wish everyone in the world would let their worldview expand. That’s how change happens.

What can I do about this? 

I have decided today I will not hide how I feel. I will tell my story.

I will get involved in my local Democrat groups. 

I will fight.

I will write. 

I will write about military life. I will write about spirituality. 

I will encourage others to have a relationship with God not just quote the Bible.

I will continue to expose myself and my kids to new viewpoints.

I will teach my kids to follow the rules Atticus Finch set down for Scout and Jem.

I believe in a faith that does justice. I believe you change when you get outside of your bubble and let your world grow.