Here's a thing about me, usually, I love holidays and celebrations. Life is short and often cruel, so celebrating feels like a rebellion against the difficulties of life. As many of you know, today is American Independence day, and it's been hard, in many ways, today feels more like a funeral, than a party. I don't always know what do with these feelings, I try to be optimistic, but sometimes trying to find the good is very hard.

Today I've decided to celebrate the world I'd like to live in, I'm going to celebrate the people I am working to build that life with (hey, you all are those people)! If they take all of our joy and traditions, then they have already won. Joy and kindness in uncertainty is the greatest part of humanity. The fact that we strive to go on in the face of so much ugliness is a thing of beauty.

Women in concentration camps would share recipes and create fantasy cookbooks of dishes they would serve when they could again. These people in the darkest places still believed in preserving their joy, culture, and dignity. Their act of resistance was hope for the future.

So, I'm trying, when I'm scared, when I'm overwhelmed, to remember that I am also more resilient than I often feel, and I hope you will too. Love to all.