#dc attack

Imagine someone waiting outside the African American museum after an event for the Black community, and then shoots two black people there. That would be a racist hate crime!

but if they are Jews at a Jewish museum after a Jewish event then it is because of Palestine and is ok. Don’t wave the antisemitism card around!

The killer went to a JEWISH museum after an event of the JEWISH community. He wanted to target JEWS.

For the past few months since the election, I've just been nervous and stressed out. Constantly checking the news and Twitter feeds of people on both sides of the political aisles who know what's going on. (I don't personally use Twitter because it seems pretty caustic and Tumblr suits my needs better). And its felt like it got worse yesterday because of the craziness that happened. But yesterday I talked with my mom and my dad about all this and they gave me some pretty good advice.

My dad said that I was too caught up in political news. That I should stop reading it because all it would do is stress me out. And my mom told me that I shouldn't let this make me afraid. That I should focus more on my life and what I'm doing.

And I'm realizing that they were right.

Just to be clear, I'm not at all saying to just forget what happened or to pretend everything's okay. I'm not saying that this wasn't big or that this should be normal. I'm saying that while things are rough right now we can't be bogged down by solely consuming bad news. If you want to be informed or just know what's going on, that's fine. But if you just spend your whole days doomscrolling Twitter and googling all the bad things happening, if you check for any new information every few minutes like I've been, that isn't a healthy way to live.

If you're someone whose been dealing with this too, here's advice I'm trying to live by now.

1) Find Something Else To Focus on. If you get the itch to turn on the news or doomscroll, pull out your favorite book or video game. Watch some T.V. or movies. If you have a hobby like writing fanfiction or something else, do it. Don't be sucked into the negativity. Find something that brings you happiness and can help pass the time.

2) Remember This Is Not Your Life. This might sound stupid or pretentious but politics is not your life. Unless you are an activist or a politician or some kind of analyst, none of the things that go on in Washington are your business. They affect you for sure and its important to know any changes but unless it is your job to deal with political issues, politics should not at all be what you give all your focus to on a day to day basis. Your life should be what you focus on no matter what.

3) Never Lose Hope. I know times are dark. Times are painful right now but things can and will get better. I'm someone who personally thinks that as time goes on, the world becomes a better place. Years ago black people wouldn't have been able to vote or go to school with white people. Now they can. Years ago gay couples were illegal, and now they can have families in so many places. I'm sure people during the black plague or after 9/11 or people who endured during jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement all thought that things were never going to get better but they did. Things may not magically become better but I truly think that, bit by bit, as time goes on, things will become better. And that's why its important that during the tough times like today, like the next few coming months or even the rest of the year will be, we never lose hope. Because Hope is that fire that burns within us as the world grows cold. It's the beacon of light that peers out of the darkness and guides us to happiness. Its the Oasis of life-giving water that we find after walking through the hot and dry dessert. Never give up on finding it.