Finding Balance in a World of Uncertainty: A 20-Something's Reflections on Creating Change and Living Freely

Updated: January 2024

NOTE: I do apologize in advance if there are some parts that don’t flow as easily as they should, but I wanted to update this blog post because I felt it was very relevant to the current events in Gaza. All I urge is that we continue to push to #FreePalestine and find ways to support Palestine.

Does anyone else feel stuck between “the world is ending, stop giving a f*ck” and “we gotta make changes to save the world”? Or simply “what in the actual f*ck is going on?”

Honestly, this has been what I’ve been going back & forth on for awhile because how tf can we continue just acting as if nothing is wrong?

This is especially true now, especially with the genocide that is occurring to Palestinians. This is something that we especially cannot turn a blind eye to. We have to continue to talk about Palestine and urge a cease fire, we have to continue to push for a Palestine that is free. #FreePalestine

Not to sound morbid, but it’s honestly hard to think farther down the line when everything feels so uncertain. It’s not even that I’m unsure about my own future, I’m unsure about the world’s future tbh. 

I don’t like doing things and moving through the world as if everything around me isn’t basically in flames, turning into sh*t.

I say this because, personally, I sometimes feel bad for posting about my own life and me just having fun, knowing that there is so much sh*t going on around me. I definitely feel like a hypocrite, continuing to go on with my own life, knowing in the back of my head that Palestine isn’t free. It feels as if all I can do is continue to post/repost and write letters to urge a ceasefire and push to help Palestine be free.

Thoughts about the future

I always feel as if I have a responsibility to create a better future for future generations, especially with my Child Studies degree, but I cannot fathom even thinking beyond a few years from now - it’s so hard because everything actually feels like sh*t. Obviously, things are continually evolving, but with this rate, how can we even be sure that it is evolving in the right place?

Especially now. There is a whole population of Palestinians who need our help, who just want to be free, free of genocide, free of the murders that are nonstop. Like many people are saying, history is repeating itself. The thing is, though, that it doesn’t seem like much is happening to stop this. We’re really pushing, but what do we need to do in order for it to stop? In order for these other people to see that they are taking lives away.

It’s not even supposed to sound so morbid, lol, but when so many things are plummeting at once, how can we even possibly think the future is bright? LOL see, that sounds so morbid - the thing is it kinda is, but it’s not supposed to sound so dark. But, I mean, how else is it supposed to sound? 

Here’s why this comes up - it’s mainly because when I think about procreating (lmfao not really, but you know what I mean), it’s like, why would I want to bring a future generation into this — that’s assuming my own issues/traumas are solved & whatnot, but that’s a story for a dif. time — , when so many things are so unsolved, when it’s so hard to find peace, when there’s always so much conflict that goes beyond our own scope. I’ve lived in a drought damn near my whole life, and then there was nonstop rain, flooding rain, for a hot minute, and no one knew how to act. No one was really prepared for what was going to happen. But we’re somehow prepared to be on fire, as if that’s normal? (I reside in California btw). It’s like why would I want someone else to endure the vast uncertainty that we live in right now.

More thoughts and questions that develop

The more that I consume media, the more obvious it is that the newer generation seems to have a better understanding of empathy and critical thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I know our algorithms are working to show us what we want to see, but it does seem more apparent that the newer generation just wants humans to be treated as humans. It is so hard to fathom just how controversial that statement is because it shouldn’t be controversial that humans want to be treated like such, yet here we are.

When it comes to how we consume media, we should continue to question what we come across and take the time to think before forming opinions, especially since media is far more in our faces now than it ever has been before. Personally, I wish that I was taught to be a critical thinker at a younger age, because it becomes harder to unlearn things at a later age. Everything lives on a spectrum and we should continue to question things and try to understand different perspectives. I honestly find it beneficial to look at things through multiple different lenses because you never really know what solution can arise. 

CONCLUSION

With that, I just want to know what your thoughts are on trying to change the world and salvage it or just letting it be and continuing to live your life as is? Are our new use of critical thinking skills propelling us forward? Are we just thinking about the issues without trying to find any real solutions? It seems to be the direction we’re headed: understanding the issue, but not having real hard solutions, which brings me back to my initial thought of “what in the actual f*ck is going on?”

xoxo,
kaels
too bad ain’t me<3