Letter from the Voices Editor
It’s finally that most wonderful time of the year! The wind is frigid, the leaves are crumpled shadows of their prior vibrancy, and the first of Christmas lights are beginning to twinkle their way into existence. It’s no surprise that these changing days of season transitions and holiday advancements simultaneously haunt and entice with their tantalizing promises of wishes fulfilled but also with the wariness of discord and doom.
As the stressors pile on, we draw up the walls, silence our consciousness, and permit ourselves little more than a superficial effort to interact with the world. The monotony of routines disillusion us into believing that life can be little more than the dark, gloomy clouds reflected in the November skies. It becomes all too easy to slip into that default mode of agnosticism and dismissal for the next person to pass us.
But I urge you (and myself) to take a step back from that self-centeredness and recognize that we share this lifetime and place. Resist that toxic mindset that your life is worse than the next person’s (because let’s be honest, that perspective is tiresome and hardly unique). In such an individualistic society, remember that yours is not the only story worth telling. There is always someone who’s traversing a similar storm or has it worse than you, but even if there isn’t, who cares? Is there not a beauty in knowing that though our tribulations differ, our burdens are not ours to bear alone?
Don’t resist it. Embrace the possibilities of connections for all their ambiguity and intimidation. Recognize that, in fostering connections we entwine together a tapestry of vibrant stories—a constellation of characters bound to forever dance in harmony through this symphony called life, simultaneously tragic and broken yet alluring and joyous.
As the year winds down, I encourage you to extend your hand even if it’s with timid trepidation. Life is not meant to be a solo routine so gaze at the stars and enjoy the performance…
(and I hope you thoroughly enjoy this issue of The Wake!)
Esther Chan
Voices Editor