2021: Now What?

 Happy 2021, everyone!

It's a new year for my blog, and I just realized that I officially began The Traveling Mandolin in January of 2011. So, Happy Ten Years! I didn't really get into it until April of the same year, so maybe around then I'll post an exciting ten-year celebration thing. But in the meantime, time flies and all that jazz.

The immediate energy rush after the attempted coup/white supremacist riot at the Capitol has leached away, and I feel tired. I called the White House today to ask that the president retract the death penalty for three inmates doomed to die this next week. Three times someone answered and immediately hung up. I keep trying.

If there's anything that this past year has done for me, it's made me realize that I need to be more political. Voting is only a tiny part of democracy, and protesting, contacting representatives, subverting systems, donating money to important causes, changing opinions (both my own and others'), taking direct action, and even imagining different kinds of futures are all part of being an engaged citizen. I'm still figuring out what this looks like for me, but am actively following accounts and becoming engaged with ending the death penalty, prison abolition (yes, exactly what it sounds like), community safety nets, Indigenous land sovereignty, racial reparations, and more. I will be writing about these things in the future and sharing as many concrete, actionable, do-right-now tips as I can. 

In the meantime, I'm trying to take care of myself. I've been eating delicious and nourishing soup instead of binge-eating burritos, I'm taking a break from sugar, and I'm making a concerted effort to move my body, stretch, and get fresh air every day. 

I don't know what this year will bring, but I'm ready to get back into action, with fresh perspective and renewed energy. 

Thanks for being here for another year of The Traveling Mandolin!

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