Yo, Miss! (No. 62)

A Light

As 2024 comes to a close, I’ve been trying to rest and recharge during this holiday break. But before the year slips away, I wanted to share a few reflections with you.

This year was filled with ups and downs, and like many of you, I spent much of it fighting for what I believe in. When I wasn’t teaching or working out, I poured myself into supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign for the presidency.

We all know how that turned out.

I am not looking forward to four years of Trump 2.0. The MAGA movement is already showing cracks, with Trad MAGA clashing with Tech MAGA online, but the chaos isn’t exactly reassuring.

Still, I’ve made a promise to myself as we head into 2025: I won’t let the negativity consume me. Instead, I’m choosing to look for pockets of hope and light wherever I can.

Just as I was solidifying this goal, I stumbled across a powerful clip from my friend Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, who reminded me:

“Every one of us is a small light, and we need to build on that light. In the period to come—where we might see some terrible actions—we must fill the world with light, compassion, and love.”

The next day, I took students from our feminist club to see the Broadway musical Suffs, about the women’s suffrage movement. The play brought history to life in such a powerful way that several students left the theater more determined than ever to fight for our rights and democracy.

Their energy was contagious. It reminded me that those of us who believe in justice, equity, and democracy can’t give up. We’ll keep finding light and hope in art, literature, history, and—most importantly—our communities.

So as we turn the page from 2024 to 2025, let’s carry those small lights forward together. One spark at a time, we can work to illuminate the path to a better future.

Happy New Year and thank you so much for subscribing to Yo, Miss!