Hello 2021

 

Hello 2021, this is 2020 writing you with some encouraging words about your chapter in history. I've been dealing with a dumpster fire this year, so I thought I would pass on some friendly words of wisdom as I exit stage left and let you usher in all the greatness I know you will bring to the world. I don't claim to know everything, but I can certainly provide you with some information that might help you get started off on the right foot and help the people you serve recover and find some peace. Take this advice with a grain of salt and use it as you wish, but understand that I right this out of deep respect and admiration for what you are about to encounter.

Let me first share with you that I envy you. It is always great to follow a year that sucked. I dealt with a global pandemic, death, racial unrest, and a contentious election cycle. One of these issues alone is enough to bring any year to its knees, but having them all at once is like asking for a colonoscopy because you felt like it and didn't have anything better to do. I will apologize in advance for leaving you with some significant issues that are still not resolved, but I am hoping that you have some great plans to bring people together and heal like I was unable to do. Rest assured, you will not have all the answers and your clock starts ticking very soon. The best advice I can give you is to take things one day at a time and do your best.

I feel compelled to tell you that you will also get labeled in a number of different ways throughout your year. As I mentioned before, I was labeled as a dumpster fire on multiple occasions because nothing seemed to go right and people need an outlet for their anger and frustration. I'm an easy target and it goes along with the job, but I also hold out hope that the history books will look back kindly on what I was able to do. What I feel are some of my greatest accomplishments are the fact that I forced schools to reevaluate how they operate and serve students so that the broken paradigm that has crippled them for years can be revamped to meet the needs of all students. I feel blessed to serve as a catalyst for an in depth discussion on race and equality and bringing to the forefront the implicit bias and white privilege that has permeated structural foundations and neglected far too many people, for far too long. I'm encouraged by the fact that advances in science have led to a vaccine for COVID and people are getting the help they need. I also have a renewed sense of faith in people because in spite of their differences and social media posts, they can, and will, come together to solve the most pressing issues facing them.

I could write for days about the amount of times that I questioned myself and thought that I would be the end of days, but that type of thinking really doesn't get you anywhere except in a huge rut. I prefer to let my actions do the talking and tasting my words before I spit them out. I am certainly not perfect, but I show up every day, lead, and do the work because these are the responsibilities I have been charged with. The history books will tell my story, but one thing they won't be able to say about me is that I gave up and didn't own my epic. I may have been a dumpster fire, but I was the best damn dumpster fire that anyone will ever see and from my ashes, a phoenix will rise up and restore the world.

You are inheriting a mess, but you are fully capable of cleaning it up. When you are done, you will be able to reflect back on your time and what you brought to the table. Please know that you have my overwhelming support because you and I will forever be linked to one another. I refuse to be the weak link and instead view myself as the bridge to your success. I wish you health and prosperity and challenge you to #OwnYourEpic.

#FORGE #ONWARD