2022, Let's Be Honest

As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, one of the first moments I experienced was watching entertainer and personality Andy Cohen drunkenly rant live on CNN (I have linked it for your viewing pleasure, dear reader). While providing some comedic relief as a year of (so far) uncertainty began, it was actually quite refreshing. As he went on about his dissatisfaction with former New York mayor Bill de Blasio, I saw something that I wished to exemplify in the new year; candor and truthful conversation.

It’s no secret that we have left the disappointing 2021 for an even more volatile 2022. Anytime I chat with somebody about their life, I can see the fatigue in their eyes, knowing that they too have thrown all care and desire to make predictions out the window. We want to show that we’re strong, that we can handle all of the news thrown at us after almost hitting the second-year milestone in this global crisis.

But we know, inside, that we aren’t.

It’s okay to feel sad, mad, or worried about the current state of life. However, you don’t have to bottle these feelings up. 2022 can be a year of monumental change and promise for the world, if only we just learn to be honest about what is happening. To be honest is to speak what’s deep inside our hearts, what we truly believe about the world. It means to not be afraid to take serious and swift action on important issues in our global community.

I’ve watched people, from school kids to seniors, struggle with isolation and mental health in my own community. I’ve heard that only 9.5% of people in low-income countries have had the access to receive one COVID-19 vaccine dose, while countries like the US and Canada are letting almost half of their vaccine stock go to waste. I’ve seen leaders like the CDC director claim it is “encouraging” that 75% of individuals that have died due to the Omicron COVID-19 variant have had pre-existing health conditions or disabilities. I’ve witnessed images of contaminated drinking water in Indigenous communities across Canada while learning that there are about 100 active drinking water advisories in First Nations communities across Canada at any given moment. I’ve tried to help my friends first-hand with the struggles of rising costs for rent and basic necessities while trying to go to school and work and just be themselves. To put it quite plainly (and honestly), it is a cruel, cruel world we are currently living in.

We need to make people hear us when we speak about the things that matter to us. Sometimes, they may not listen despite every action we take-but at least we tried. And without revealing the honest realities of life today, we may never have the chance to see changes come to fruition. The truth is a powerful thing, and we have the ability to mobilize it. Tools like social media have made this task much easier. We can connect with an audience and influence change in real time. Other than that, there are still ways to share our truths to make a difference. You can start an organization, contact your local leaders, organize a protest, fundraise for a cause, speak to experts in the field to learn more about an issue. We should also be encouraging the same honesty from our leaders, such as politicians, who need to understand just how grave our current situation is. If they can’t admit it themselves, how can we expect them to be serious about helping people?

It feels like our world is falling apart, and unless we have a real open discussion about everything going on, I have little hope that things are going to change for good. I want to see us moving forward, not backwards, and I wonder if we’re truly learning our lesson from these past two years.

While it’s odd to be learning any sort of lesson from Andy Cohen, I don’t want to look back on 2022 once again wishing it was a better time for us. I want to make an effort and be honest until it’s too late for everyone. This is a year that we can say how we truly feel and make those in power understand just how angry and upset we are. So, be sober and truthful in your thoughts and actions—let’s start this year off better than before.