The last 24 hours has been a mixed bag of emotions. A close friend of mine came out to me yesterday morning on my way to the UIWP, so I spent most of my time messaging back and forth with her. Two important people in my life lost loved ones. My roommate of 5 years lost her father to Parkinsons a couple of weeks ago and last night was the memorial service. As I was driving back to Champaign late last night, my mentor and fellow English teacher who just retired this past year lost her husband to a sudden heart attack.
Yesterday, I shared with my friend that it’s disheartening when we wait for tragedy to strike and then begin to dialogue about difficult topics. No school or church (contexts that I spend most of my time in) is perfect, but I don’t want us to wait around anymore to have a “reason” to address “controversial” issues. I’m not saying we’ll find the solutions or even temporary band-aids right away, but isn’t it time we open up these doors?
I know it is.
This is just to say... 