Stepping into the Unknown

 

With the New Year in full effect, and the presidency officially switching over from Obama to Trump, I feel as if a post on letting go of the old and stepping into the unknown would be appropriate.

I would be lying to you if I told you that I kept up with the politics that has been swirling on around me for the last year or so about the new presidential election.

I, like plenty of other Americans, scrolled through my Facebook news feed, twitter feed, even some of my Instagram posts dealing with the road to finding a new leader for our country.

I gathered information from online sources that forced their way in front of my face.

I listened to my fellow peers and professors on their opinions of this ground breaking news and attempted to make my own opinion as best as I could on the subject at hand.

I tried to stay educated and well-rounded on the subject  to finding a new president.

As I sat at my computer today thinking of a new post to make I thought about current situations that were going on in my own personal life.

I’m currently facing a situation that is kind of sticky and unfortunate; the type of situation where I personally did not want it to change, but had no say in the matter. I do not know what will happen next or where I will really go from here, but what I do know is that I have to patiently wait as the universe pans everything out for my own good.

I sat here thinking about the situation I was personally going through and made a connection between my personal life and this presidential change we are going through as a country.

As a nation, we are saying goodbye to a familiar president who has made history for our country while stepping into the unknown future of a new leader.

 

What will happen to our country? Will we be as strong as we have always been? Will we continue to progress?

Or will we move backwards? Will fear lead our nation?

Or will hope, promise, and positivity rule over all individuals residing in it?

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary the definition of the intransitive verb to change is “to undergo transformation, transition, or substitution.” [1]

I hate change. Like absolutely despise it.

I hate transitioning from old ways or old people to new situations.

I hate that I do not have the control over it. I hate that things don’t always work out the way I want them to and sometimes I actually have to accept situations for what they are.

But what I am learning is that change is inevitable.  We are constantly undergoing transformations, transitions, or substitutions as individuals.

Quite frankly, we as a nation in this point of time are undergoing a major transition.

You may be like me where you hate change, you like the way things have been. Maybe this is in your own personal life or you can relate this to the transformation we are going through as a country.

Or maybe you are good at accepting change, you enjoy change, you welcome it with open arms.

Regardless of which end of the spectrum you are, I think how we handle major changes or transformation in our life or our nation can cause us to either succeed or fail.

You see, to me this change that I am personally going through despite how much I hate it is an opportunity for me to look back over the course of the entire situation and analyze where I went right and where I went wrong.

It’s a chance to positively step into the unknown taking the things I have learned and create something for myself and my life that I haven’t been able to do prior to this change.

I think we as a country have to look at this transition in this same light. This change is a chance as a nation and as individuals to create a better tomorrow for our future inhabitants. It’s a chance to voice our opinions, our wants, our needs, and our desires to positively move ourselves and our country in the right direction.

As Obama said in his farewell speech:

“So that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change, and make life better for those who follow.”

“Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It has been contentious. Sometimes it has been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.”[2]

 

So like Obama said, America is exceptional, and I believe YOU are exceptional.

You and I, as well as America as a whole, can handle changes, transformations, and transitions that are not always easy.

 We can choose to see these changes in a brighter, more positive way and can continuously move forward into the unknown creating a better pathway for ourselves. It just depends on how we deal with this change.

How will you deal with it?

I choose HOPE for the unknown.

I choose SUCCESS for the unknown.

I choose POSITIVITY , CREATIVITY, and CONSTANT FORWARD MOTION.

I hope you choose the same.

Until next time,

God bless,

L.Blum