As the saying goes, “The only thing constant in life is change”, or something like that. I know I cannot speak for all Americans, but I think it is safe to say that life feels different now. Maybe it doesn’t apply to just Americans, maybe the whole world feels different. I don’t know how and cannot explain it well, but the air feels… different. The environment feels…disturbed. Every bit of news now feels wholly eventful as if each step we take on this timeline leaves a deeper and bigger footprint. Everything feels eventful now, so much so that it feels as if years worth of time cannot be condensed into a single history textbook; every news story now is an entire history textbook itself. My senses feels so heightened and I feel like I must dutifully prepare for whatever comes next. The air is fragrant with the smell of change; it is coming and it is coming fast.

On November 5, 2024, 75+ million Americans voted for Donald Trump to be the 47th president of the United States (Lindsay, 2024). On December 4, 2024 United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated by gunman Luigi Mangione, whose bullet casings found afterward were etched with the words “deny”, “delay”, and “depose” (Brumfield and Dale, 2024). Two big developments that will have ripple effects in 2025. Two big developments that contribute to that air of change I feel.

I smell the revolution in the air. I feel something so intensely, an ever-present anticipation and anxiousness. Change is coming for better or for worse. I am glued to my phone looking for news of the spark that will ignite the powder keg of whatever awaits us in 2025. The fear of unknown and the hope for tangible social change constantly fight for dominance inside the very fibers of my body from the outside layer of my skin down to the pits of my bones. Do other people feel this way? How do people walk confidently when they’re always worried about lays out-of-sight just around the corner? Will we be ok as a country? Will my family and friends be ok? Will I be ok? The inquisitive part of my personality is ramped up even more, bombarding my mind with nonstop questions. But for all that I think about, one question firmly cements itself in the forefront of my mind: what will I be doing in response to this change?

I have always been politically active but not to the extent that I feel I should be. I’ve gone to protests, vigils, signed petitions, and voted in elections at the city, state, and federal levels. But I feel inadequate; I feel like I don’t do enough. I want to be harbinger of positive change, not just a low-level supporter. As I get older, I think about my legacy and how my actions impact the wider world around me. I feel like it is not enough for me to continue doing the same things but instead make a push for change myself. I’m restless. But how? What do I have to offer?

I struggle to answer that question with an increasing cost-of-living. I struggle to answer that question when work is the thing that I devote most of my life to, but do not reap nearly enough of the rewards promised. I don’t condone violence and it is sad that someone had to lose their life in order for a point to be made, but after seeing the unifying response from people after the murder, I felt a sense of awakening for once. Never had I had seen such widespread unity among people across the socioeconomic political spectrum join together to express their feelings about the violence enacted on them by health insurance denials. It felt good to have the everyday American have and use their voice. Brian Thompson shouldn’t have been murdered, and no one else should be murdered. But to see people unify and rise up against injustice cured that nervous anticipation of mine just for a bit. It’s been a while since it happened now, and I still feel like I smell revolution in the air. 

We as a people are capable of so much change but we all have become complacent in a way. Income inequality is worse today than what is what right before the French Revolution (Kyeyune, 2024). I don’t want my life to be a constant cycle of waking up, going to work, sleep, rinse, and repeat all for this cycle to not give me much financial security. I want my to have meaning that transcends the limits of time. But how I do that with inequality staring me dead in the face, laughing at me? How can any of us do that? I am privileged enough to not be completely broke and impoverished, but I am stuck where I am. We may find small moments of joy and contentment in things that we buy or experience, but our socioeconomic status should not be the determinant of how often we should have access to that joy. We deserve more. Without action, our future is bleak. I just finished watching a documentary called Financialization of Water by Jerome Fritel. The documentary discusses how water slowly but surely is becoming privatized. I want to say it is dystopian, but I cannot. We are heading for a world where all our natural resources will be taxed and corporatized. That world should never be allowed to exist. But with this recent election, it just might exist sooner rather than later. 

2025 is a less than 8 hours away at the time I am posting this. I both eagerly and nervously await what lies ahead. I realized that I have become complacent and I want to change. Even as a I write this blog post, I feel disappointed. I keep questioning myself on how to do more and am not offering any answers, while simultaneously trying to encourage you, my readers, to do more. There lies my complacency. I want to be a doer in 2025 so I’m going to challenge myself next year. My new year resolution is make positive change and push myself to do more. The way we are living life right now is unsustainable. Everything is expensive, climate change is worsening, and the United States of America (a highly globally influential nation) is extremely politically divided right down the middle. The world is becoming increasingly and increasingly chaotic. We will reach a breaking point soon. I want to be someone who can help steer people through the crisis and improve myself along the way. I will revisit this blog post in 1 year on December 31, 2025. Hopefully I will have pushed myself enough to be more politically active and make other personal changes in my life. Revolution is change and change starts with the people. Hopefully you, my readers, will be inspired to change as well. I do see some hope through this fog of anticipation and uncertainty. Next year marks a quarter of the 21st century. The silver jubilee. The Holy Year. I don’t know about you, but I am tired. I would like to fully wake up. Let’s embrace the significance of next year and wake up. Happy New Year and Happy Changes!

References

Brumfield, Sarah, and Maryclaire Dale. “Key details about the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO.” AP News, 17 Dec. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-shooting-79a970978fc7adbb23d3fed4ea2f70d.

Kyeyune, Malcom. “America Is Turning into Revolutionary France.” UnHerd, 4 June 2024, unherd.com/2024/06/america-is-turning-into-revolutionary-france/. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

‌Lindsay, James M. “The 2024 Election by the Numbers.” Council on Foreign Relations, 2024, http://www.cfr.org/article/2024-election-numbers.

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