Gift of Hope
Every weekend, I escape to Starbucks to grade and lesson plan. It's a place I feel comfortable in, and I can work in peace, which is something I crave. I spend hours there, and I am not sure if this is 30, but it definitely is me. I always sit by the window because I love watching people drive by, often wondering if their lives are as "exciting" as mine.
I just finished up a lesson for my first day with a new class tomorrow when I received a notification on my phone about a mass shooting in Texas. I quickly searched it on my Chromebook--the senseless loss of human life is something I refuse to turn away from because it does not stop these acts from happening. Ignorance is not bliss in these cases for me. My heart was breaking as I was reading information about how people were innocently worshipping at a church when someone came in and opened fire, killing an undetermined number, with early reports claiming upwards of 20.
As I was reading, I heard someone calling for, "Erin." My initial reaction was to keep doing what I was doing because some other Erin probably just ordered her Pumpkin Spice Latte, and it was unnecessary for me to stare at her like she would somehow know that we are connected. The awkward part of me wanted to though because I am always interested to see what the other Erins of the world look like; however, my attention stayed fixed on the news coming out of Texas.
While "Erin" kept ringing out, I was thinking about how many times in my 30 years of life I have heard the term "mass shooting." I have watched it play out repeatedly, wondering every time how in the world people can be called to take another's life. The hate I see on the news and frequently in real life feels deflating and overpowering at times. The anger and sadness was quickly filling me up when I finally heard, "Is there someone named Erin in the store?"
I turned around to look at the worker because, yes, I am Erin, but I had been there for hours and knew that I was not breaking any social expectations that one is held to in public. When he noticed that I looked at him, he asked if I was Erin. I nodded, and he walked over to me. He held out a gift card and said, "Someone in the drive thru asked me to give this to you. I don't know who it was, but here you go."
I opened it up to find it was from one of the families I love the most in my hometown who just happened to see me sitting in the window as they drove through. And, there it was. They gave me a gift card, but they also gave me exactly what I needed that moment--hope.
In the face of tragedy, somehow we are reminded that the vast majority of the people in the world are good, are full of love, and are ready and willing to help others. The shooter in Texas, the driver in NYC, the shooter in Vegas cannot and will not break the human spirit. We are strong, resilient, and refuse to cower in fear because, in the end, love wins.
What we need to realize is that it's going to take an overwhelming amount of acts of love and kindness to make a change, to bridge the divide, to overwhelm hate. We have to stand up, speak out, and spread love. We have to seize every opportunity to shine light in areas and times of darkness. We have to reach out instead of driving by, just like the amazing family I love did for me today. It's these acts that turn the tide.
This does not have to be the norm. This does not have to be the reason people give up hope in others. We are far better than this. Thank you, Haislets, for the touching reminder today at the exact moment I needed it.
Thoughts to the people in Texas.
EP
I just finished up a lesson for my first day with a new class tomorrow when I received a notification on my phone about a mass shooting in Texas. I quickly searched it on my Chromebook--the senseless loss of human life is something I refuse to turn away from because it does not stop these acts from happening. Ignorance is not bliss in these cases for me. My heart was breaking as I was reading information about how people were innocently worshipping at a church when someone came in and opened fire, killing an undetermined number, with early reports claiming upwards of 20.
As I was reading, I heard someone calling for, "Erin." My initial reaction was to keep doing what I was doing because some other Erin probably just ordered her Pumpkin Spice Latte, and it was unnecessary for me to stare at her like she would somehow know that we are connected. The awkward part of me wanted to though because I am always interested to see what the other Erins of the world look like; however, my attention stayed fixed on the news coming out of Texas.
While "Erin" kept ringing out, I was thinking about how many times in my 30 years of life I have heard the term "mass shooting." I have watched it play out repeatedly, wondering every time how in the world people can be called to take another's life. The hate I see on the news and frequently in real life feels deflating and overpowering at times. The anger and sadness was quickly filling me up when I finally heard, "Is there someone named Erin in the store?"
I turned around to look at the worker because, yes, I am Erin, but I had been there for hours and knew that I was not breaking any social expectations that one is held to in public. When he noticed that I looked at him, he asked if I was Erin. I nodded, and he walked over to me. He held out a gift card and said, "Someone in the drive thru asked me to give this to you. I don't know who it was, but here you go."
I opened it up to find it was from one of the families I love the most in my hometown who just happened to see me sitting in the window as they drove through. And, there it was. They gave me a gift card, but they also gave me exactly what I needed that moment--hope.
In the face of tragedy, somehow we are reminded that the vast majority of the people in the world are good, are full of love, and are ready and willing to help others. The shooter in Texas, the driver in NYC, the shooter in Vegas cannot and will not break the human spirit. We are strong, resilient, and refuse to cower in fear because, in the end, love wins.
What we need to realize is that it's going to take an overwhelming amount of acts of love and kindness to make a change, to bridge the divide, to overwhelm hate. We have to stand up, speak out, and spread love. We have to seize every opportunity to shine light in areas and times of darkness. We have to reach out instead of driving by, just like the amazing family I love did for me today. It's these acts that turn the tide.
This does not have to be the norm. This does not have to be the reason people give up hope in others. We are far better than this. Thank you, Haislets, for the touching reminder today at the exact moment I needed it.
Thoughts to the people in Texas.
EP
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