Time to Think
One year ago this month, I toured Washington DC with a group of teenagers to visit the National Mall and witness Donald Trump be sworn in as our nation’s 45th President. I summed up my experience with two words: hope and fear. I was inspired by the bravery and patriotism of the young people I was traveling with, but I was fearful of the divisive rhetoric employed by our president elect while on the campaign trail. I was moved to write about my experiences in a piece I titled Hope and Fear . I had no idea where this writing would take me, but over the course of this year, I have written thirty reflections . It seemed that with every frightening action the president committed, t he American people countered it with a hopeful action of their own. As this year of hope and fear played out, I wrote. Sometimes at 2 am when I had to wake up to get ready for school in a few hours. Sometimes on my phone in between homework and giving the kids a bath. Sometimes the reflectio