News Breakdown: A 17-Year-Old's Message for Hope

By Alexis Trifon

There is so much injustice in the world, yet there is also so much beauty. Both coexist and demand our attention. Where darkness looms, there is light, and where hatred lies, love has the potential to flourish. To disregard either reality is to overlook the complexity, duality, and nuance of the human experience. 

The past years have brought their own set of challenges—from the pandemic to wars—there's a collective sense of pain and hardship. 

As a self-proclaimed critical thinker, my brain perceives life as a series of puzzles. I try to connect dots and put pieces of the puzzle together, constantly asking the who, what, when, where, and why questions. 

However, I've found that asking they “why” can be the most difficult question of all.

Among my earliest memories of grappling with the why of a situation was through my identity as a Jewish-American. As I entered the room where my parents were watching TV, images of individuals appeared against a barren, black-and-white background. The images were of Jewish prisoners in a concentration camp during World War II.

"My mom turned to me and uttered a single word: "leave" My dad responded with, "No, she should see this. Let her see this.” Uneasy, my mom obliged and I watched the tv, occasionally letting my eyes wander when it became too difficult to watch.

I share this story because while I can never understand the why of hate, or the why of a specific situation, what I can control is my reaction ... the choice of good over bad, love over hate, and leading with empathy. 

I've come to contextualize the dynamic between good and bad as a series of tallies. One way I try to gain more points for the good is by educating myself on my family's history, or by fighting for causes that I'm passionate about, leading to the creation of the blog that you're reading now.

So, as you face the bad, don't forget humanity's capacity to adapt, progress, and strive towards creating a better, more just society—a society that future generations will hopefully look back on and be proud of the progress made.