New Year 2021 by Robin Bunch Brobst

I have really struggled with my New Years post, hence why it is out on day 4 of the new year. I am a person of great privilege and I am aware of that every single day. I have a roof over my head, heat in my home, food in my pantry, money in the bank and friends and family that love me and support my dreams. What a crazy world we live in that all of those basic human needs are considered “privileged.” But, I am also an adult that has a child inside her that at some point in her childhood had almost none of those things. The one constant in my childhood was that someone was always in my corner loving me and supporting my dreams. I am positive that part of the reason why I have what I have now is because of those struggles early in my life. Somehow, I was blessed with a resilience and a positive attitude that helped me push through the obstacles that life put in front of me. 2020 was hard for all of us but really really really hard for a far greater number of us than most of us can wrap our brains around. It’s so easy for us to sit inside our warm homes with our full belly’s and judge what others are struggling to deal with every single minute of every single day. What I hope for all of us in 2021 is that we actually take a moment and look outside ourselves. Really look! Don’t judge, just look. Put yourself in someone else’s place and feel real empathy. Make an effort to be kind. Make an effort to think “what if that were me?” Make an effort to listen, really listen. Make an effort to thoughtfully engage with someone that doesn’t think exactly as you do, seriously, make an effort! Make an effort to see the person, not the color of their skin, their gender or who they love. Make an effort to be grateful. Make an effort to learn from history and DO BETTER! Make an effort to just BE BETTER! Yes, I am a Pollyanna, but I truly believe that if each human on this planet just made an effort to be a better version of themselves, this world would be truly amazing! Cheers to being better . Cheers to 2021