Apocalypse Bingo
A friend of mine told me yesterday that a friend of hers was looking for Apocalypse Bingo 2022 examples. Being someone who regularly thinks about things, and likes to use humor to hide from the realities of life, I decided I'd try my hand at it. And since why not, I thought I'd share it here. Warning, this might slightly resemble your Facebook feed.
But debates about vampire dietary struggles aside, there's a lot of uncertainty going into this new year. It's something that friends and I regularly talk about, and I see it on the faces of parents and fellow teachers. No one is sure what's coming, and they're not quite sure what to do about it.
On one hand there's the cold, silky call of despair. Beckoning to the cynically apathetic embrace of nihilism, that whispers that the world is condemned anyway and releases its occupants from the burden of having to find a solution.
Then it drowns you. Cool cool.
And then we have the other extreme:
Awesome sauce.
Is it possible to keep moving forward and making plans? Blinders on, recklessly investing in futures that can go tumbling to the ground at a moment's notice? Or is it better to stop dreaming altogether, and only leave the house for toilet paper?
The world has definitely seen both of those things in the last two years. And it would seem reasonable that we'll probably continue to see that as we move forward into 2022. There has got to be another way. One where that doesn't end in apathy, and also one where we leave the burning house instead of just pretending it's not there.
Looking at both scenarios, there is a type of surrender. Giving up what can be owned and letting life do whatever it'll do. One just heckles the fire as it burns down the house, and the other pretends the smoke is coming from the new aroma therapy candle. It's a form of denial either way.
It may not be clear (or easy), but something can be done. Finding water and a bucket, calling for help, or leaving the house to burn, but taking you and your potential for future with you. We can choose to act. We don't have to wait for life to decide for us. Now sometimes there are things that are horribly out of our control, but we will always be able to choose how we react to it. That is what we can own. That is where we can ultimately find hope.
The world can choose to be cruel and unkind, but that can end with us. The world can choose to live in panic and fall completely apart, but that can end with us.
We forget how influential we can be in our little spheres. I experience this daily with my students. They take my grumpy days and make them light. Their enthusiasm for the little things in life, their hope for the future, this helps push me. Because I want all of those things for them. I want them to grow in a world that's big and wide. That they can get messy in, but where they can ultimately be safe. I want them to be able to have dreams to pursue. To fail then succeed. To get their hearts broken. To build families. And I don't want this just for my students, but for my siblings, my niece who's due in a few weeks, my little cousins and first cousins. For me. For the family I hope one day to have.
And while it's not clear to me yet exactly how to do it, I feel in my heart that living a life of faith, hope and kindness will get me closer than any other option can. So maybe we'll see a couple apocalypse bingos (I've started speed walking to prep for the zombies), but that doesn't have to be what defines 2022.
We get to choose that. So I guess we can choose not to give up.
-Shayla
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