A year ago, a friend and I were monitoring the pandemic from the comfort of our homes while going through exams. The first case had not yet been documented in Europe. My friend in the US had no idea about what was going on in China. A year later, the world is unrecognizable. Our past selves could have never imagined this life, and our current selves struggle to remember what we once considered normal.
Over the past year, anything I (or Jesse and I) have watched, when people greet each other or are in crowds or on public transportation, I always ask myself “where are their masks?” or “What about COVID?”
It is becoming difficult to remember a time before the pandemic. Jesse and I often talk about how this will likely be our short to midterm future as well.
Today, I saw the inauguration of a new president. He would not have been my first choice, but he was, by no means, my last. There have been few occasions where I have felt proud to be an American—it always was something I just… was. Not something I thought about.
That is, once again, my privilege. My Americanness has never been in question.
I had an exam today. I did terribly. I read over 170 pages yesterday and all of the required reading for the class. I did not independently study a separate category of literature that was required to answer the exam questions. And honestly, I do not care. But today, today, I am proud to see Biden and Harris take the office.
I have not suddenly become a patriot. Nor do I believe Biden’s presidency is a silver bullet that will fix what I think is wrong with our country. There were structural problems long before Trump—the structural problems that made me want to leave.
Today, for the first time, in a long time, I have hope. I have hope for America. I can see a future for America that I would want to be part of. I could see the America that I want to help build: one that is not just for people like me who were born on its land but people who believe in the promise of America. People who hope that it will provide the opportunity to build a better life.
We have a long road ahead of us. But we are at least heading in the right direction.