How did your Super Bowl Sunday turn out? Were you happy with the results? Did you lose any money?
I should've bet on the Chiefs and altered my stance on gambling. No one could have predicted the shooting at their celebratory parade.
Instead of anticipating the game last Sunday morning, I started this blog post. From my quiet writing space, I searched for ideas in the corners of my head. Nothing initially surfaced, so I let out the crazy cat, grabbed some coffee, and returned to my seat.
I grabbed a black pen and my blue journal. Then, I noted the time and date. I listed the people, situations, and things I am grateful for and then outlined the day’s plans.
After a few minutes, I remembered a consulting opportunity. I emailed the administrative team, submitted my CV, and returned to writing.
The cursor cursed me without saying anything. It blinked continuously on the white screen of a new document in Microsoft Word. To avoid eye contact, I went online to a news outlet.
Here we go again. Distractions returned to interrupt my writing session.
I told myself I needed something other than Super Bowl updates from the Allegiant Stadium in Nevada to write about this week.
Excuses sound great when you want to avoid hard work.
Headlines with Trump-related news dominated the page. I scrolled past them to avoid starting my week in disgust. The other options weren’t much better, but I continued to search.
I skimmed an article about the Atlantic Ocean's current change. As a byproduct of global warming, our once semi-stable natural environment is shifting. Did you know that if the ocean's currents collapse, winters will deliver unbearable temperatures, and the sea levels will rise?
Global warming influences weather conditions from the furthest point in Canada to the most southern tip of Japan. If we don't course-correct our actions, we will run out of space.
From the climate change debates in the water, I returned to challenges on the mainland.
Did you read about the former Olympian from Antigua and Barbuda who molested boys at a Massachusetts sports camp? The story disturbed me as I read how Conrad Mainwaring mentally manipulated boys into performing acts of masturbation during his tenure as a track coach. Victims testified in court about their traumatic experiences as past camp participants.
He made them believe that sexual acts were tools to help strengthen their mental fitness.
Mainwaring’s story overlapped with an update on the former physician for the US gymnastics team who committed similar crimes. His incarcerated comrades stabbed him in prison over the weekend.
Then, the writing process took me to a story in Italy about a gang rape. Three young men from Egypt raped a 13-year-old girl. The case became a rallying cry for more strict immigration policies, but it missed the mark on addressing sexual gender violence.
Sexual assault is an epidemic. Too often, we hear about abusive incidents involving coaches, teachers, and mentors. The harm these trusted adults and others do to minors is, in some cases, irreversible.
This piece finally flowed after multiple revisions and the next barrage of sentences.
Therapy and advocating for justice can help. If you're a victim of sexual abuse, please see a professional counselor. Don't silence yourself, speak up.
While many of us watched the Super Bowl last Sunday and the parade yesterday, somebody assaulted another child or adult. People need us, but we often get distracted.
Collapsed ocean currents can't flush or reverse the memories of traumatic experiences. Global warming is real. We don’t need any more political debates to determine the truth.
It's our responsibility to pick a cause and fight for it. In this Black History Month with Valentine Days, let's use the legacy of past figures and the current people in our lives as motivation to move forward.
For the second consecutive year, the university honored me with an award for advising and teaching services. While grateful for the recognition, I know I can do more. Now I get it.
The realization of potential and the need to write these words is why I sat down last Sunday morning.
It’s time to assess progress and decide what's next. We must trust this process of becoming the best version of ourselves to improve the corners of this world we call home. Writing is one of the many actions along the necessary process to co-create change.
What will you do? You can start by subscribing to this blog for future posts delivered to your inbox, alongside exclusive offers and updates. Also, join me on Monday at noon AST/11:00 AM EST for my Zoom presentation on the writing process for conference abstracts. See the picture in the heading for more info.
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