Inaugural [Adventure]

[Adventure 32]

It was Inauguration Day 2021. 

I couldn't believe the incredible amount of relief I felt. The fear I felt for the past four years slowly began to melt away. I was emotional - more emotional than I expected to be. 

I've come to realize that the feeling I was experiencing is most closely related to what I feel when I'm coming out of a depression I didn't know was as bad as it was - the combination of realizing just how bad things were and the discovery that hope for the future is within my grasp.

Listening to Amanda Gorman's voice resonating words of hurt and hope, tears streamed down my face. We made it. We not only survived, but brought into sharp focus the systemic racism and oppression that plague our country and began the long and difficult work of seeking justice and equality. 

It has occurred to me over the past nearly two weeks since that day that I'm not used to good news from our government. I'm not used to waking up to news that the transgender in the military ban is being lifted, that the Muslim ban has been lifted, that we are once again part of the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement, and the list goes on. It is refreshing that my news feed is full of information about Biden's work on racial equality, LGBTQIA+ rights, immigration reform, the environment and climate change, healthcare, and many aspects of the coronavirus pandemic. I feel like there is forward motion instead of fighting; lifting up instead of putting down; progress instead of regression. 

Even with the social media posts from people unwilling to see that what they are posting boasts of their white privilege - if not being overtly racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, ageist, or the like - the balance seems to be tipping toward hope. That, I can live with. I feel I can finally let out the breath I've been holding for four years, begin to let down my guard, and move toward the belief that things will get better. 

What took place on January 20th, 2021 wasn't just a presidential and vice presidential inauguration ... hope was inaugurated that day.