In a Time of Darkness, I Can Be a Beacon of Hope (But Not a WWE Wrestler, Apparently)

It felt a bit selfish of me to take advantage of self-quarantine to work on my website and my social accounts. I’ve been radio-silent for months, straight from college graduation to moving to another state, taking on a dream opportunity and trying to figure my life out in the process. Suddenly, I decided to waltz back in and decide to reignite my internet relationship, but for what?

There are so many voices in the world. We’re a generation connected more than ever before, but our internal voices can be drowned out by the constant conversations happening at the tip of our fingers. I had a moment to sit in front of my computer, stare at a blank screen, but I’ve had nothing to say. This time in our lives has been a whirlwind, and I let myself get sucked into it, as we all did. We had reasons to worry, prayers to pray and individual hardships to overcome whether within our own lives or our family and friends. I did something crazy last night though, I made my family laugh.

I am home with my family, which is something I am extremely grateful for and considerably blessed to have the time to be with them. It’s like being kids again, caught up in our own routines throughout the day but finally coming together at the end of the day for dinner. Instead of talking about statistics or predictions or worries or woes, I instead informed my family that I should have been a WWE fighter.

And they laughed, they really laughed.

So I went on. I made up a wrestler name, explained what my outfit could look like and where my parents clearly messed up along the line by not getting me involved in the sport at a young age. (Before I broke my ankle the first time, but after some years of dance for flexibility and showmanship)

And they laughed, at a time like this, my family laughed. My mother cried she was laughing so hard.

First, I thought about how good that made me feel, to see some light when the clouds have been so grey. Second, I thought about how rude they were considering these were the people who told me I could do anything I want to do and but WWE was an exception? (They’re not wrong. I have a lot of torn tendons in my ankle and some minor health issues, I wouldn’t make it through a week of training without being hospitalized)

So then, I told my friends how I could have been a WWE wrestler via phone calls and text messages. They reminded me of my lack of coordination, the collection of doctor given boots I have in my closet (from the torn tendons) and they laughed. Their moods shifted, their tone changed and suddenly, the world didn’t seem so scary anymore.

We can’t ignore the fact that this is a challenging time for everyone. We can change our actions.

Similar to being a WWE wrestler, life is going to throw us down. It’s going to throw us down so hard. Sometimes life is going to stand on a ladder and just body slam on top of you and it’s going suck, I can’t sugar coat it.

We can sit in the darkness or we can be a light. We have the privilege of being connected and this is the time to not only “be the good”, but “be the hope” that we need in our families, our communities and in our world.

Call your friends. Call your family. Tell a story. Share a picture. Be there to listen. Be there to change the subject. Be the person people can laugh with (or at, in my case). Pray your heart out.

You are powerful enough to use the goodness within you, even if it’s deep down in there, to move mountains. The world needs people like you to make them smile and to light the way out of this hardship. You are strong enough, good enough and bright enough to impact the people in your life. This is the time in our lives to use our voices, the ones we sometimes silence, to spark joy and provide hope for a world that needs it more than ever. So, what are you going to do first?

I am here for you. I am praying for you. Be kind and be safe, my friends.