Dear America, 

It seems to be devolving as a nation. Everyone needs to start working together and listening, because this pandemic that we have been stuck in for close to a year needs to end. Too many lives have been lost, and for what? Because people couldn’t stay home for that month? You can stand the extra foot away from that person, or maybe the mask was just “too hard to breathe in.” All those little things could have saved thousands of people and protected those who are risking their lives on the front lines to save you. It is sad that people can be that selfish. And let’s not forget all the lives lost because of the broken system that is our government, there was no one protecting people from the systematic racism and the poorly trained cops that just assume that every black person is dangerous. We shouldn’t be seeing color, we should be seeing personality, character, and human lives. The divide we are facing in society is not okay, but maybe it is just what we needed. 2020 was by far the worst year I have lived through, but I am hoping it was the wakeup call we all needed to do better by each other. 

Emily Patrick