Moments of: The Blog
The View From Here: The Strangest of Times
When I walked out from my office on Tuesday afternoon, I felt as if I was walking into a science fiction movie. The sky was turning an eerie amber color, and although I couldn’t smell smoke, I knew that it was a particulate matter that was veiling the late afternoon sun and plunging us into an early dusk.
These are the strangest of times. We are now wearing masks and staying at home more than we did before, even beyond the initial magnitude of the global pandemic that changed our world roughly six months ago. Now we need different masks to go outdoors to protect us from the smoke from the fires that are burning all over the West Coast. We now regularly check websites for Covid-19 numbers, evacuation zones, and air quality meters as we start our days.
Working with teenagers is perhaps the best antidote for feeling defeated by the scary and challenging things going on in our world. Teenagers are imbued with an enthusiasm, optimism, and an unyielding belief that things can, and must, be better than what they have inherited. In so many historical instances, young people have instigated and demanded change, from the historic movement for civil rights and equality to the struggle for a more peaceful and environmentally conscious world. Young activists see that the future belongs to them, and they call on us as adults to wake up, to work together, and to consider the consequences of our inaction and meager expectations of what is possible.
Under the uncertain and challenging circumstances of this current moment, our students (in partnership with our new Student Activities Coordinator, Jasmine Wingard) are infusing a sense of normalcy and taking action around important issues by launching a virtual Club Fair. While they acknowledge that nothing is normal right now, many of these clubs are convening to address the great issues of our time. They are working hard to reverse the devastating impacts of climate change, creating safe and connected communities, and striving toward an equal and just society that embraces and empowers people of all races, genders, and orientations. They are also making art, building their creative capacities, and having fun: singing, sewing, speaking, reading, writing and supporting one another through shared experience.
Scrolling through these club options fills me with an emotion that can be elusive for all of us these days: hope. Our students are confident about the change they will make in the world, and they are the leaders we need to imagine a better tomorrow. They are creative, thoughtful, determined, and filled with positive energy. They understand that their voices and actions have meaning and power, and they believe that uniting together is the path to better art, stronger community, and a more just and healthy world.
We adults often talk about how we are being confronted with a “new normal,” and how we will have to adjust to the changes around us to survive. For teenagers, everything is new, and nothing is “normal”; and that is one of their greatest superpowers and precious gifts to our society. They are ready to take on the challenges of the future with resilience, passion, and optimism. That is a certainly a club I always want to be a part of.
Sonoma Academy Is...
...the only private, independent, college preparatory high school in Sonoma County. On our beautiful campus nestled at the base of Taylor Mountain in Southeastern Santa Rosa, our students are able to explore their interests and passions in a rigorous and inspiring environment that develops a lifelong love of learning and prepares them for college and beyond.
Sonoma Academy admits students of any race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability, to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and tuition assistance programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
