Every hero, every day, every one

Hero: A hero is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage or strength.

Monday: It was my birthday. In the late afternoon/early evening, by oldest bestest friend sent me a WhatsApp message. She apologised for the message being sent later in the day and attached a photo of herself. She was wearing her COVID-19 scrubs having been at work as a frontline doctor all day. I didn't even perceive the message to be 'late' or anything, but seeing her, dressed to take on the world like that, my heart broke as it simultaneously swelled with pride. It's almost a gimmick now, but seriously, not all heroes wear capes. In fact, most don't.

Tuesday: Emily Maitliss introduced Newsnight by saying the UK Prime Minister's Chief Adviser, Dominic Cummings, had "broken the rules" and "the country can see that, and it's shocked the government cannot". She accurately explained the fury that many UK residents experienced when it was revealed that Cummings had driven 260 miles to his parents' home whilst they have had relatives die alone due to their keeping of the rules given by the Government. The BBC ruled that breached its impartiality rules. Maitliss' job could have been threatened, but thankfully it wasn't. It was brave of her to speak out and accountability needs to exist in journalism.

Wednesday: There was a cross-company quiz after work. We did it over Zoom and it turned out some people didn't know how to use their mute button! A number of very excited children gave away a few answers to the questions. I honestly can't imagine being a parent right now, having to work full-time and homeschool children. They're the future, even if quadratic equations aren't something you're comfortable explaining, these young people need education. As the daughter of two teachers, I've always had an appreciation for how hard teachers work and how important education is. Having all of that come together in the home during a global pandemic - WOW. Fair play mums, dads, grandparents, step-parents, a.n.other caregivers.

Thursday: The Earth went around the Sun once more. Those of us who could, got up, washed, dressed, ate, exercised, read, watched TV, engaged with our people, all of the above or only some of it. We all tried again. In a disheartening era of unknown, we kept going.

Friday: My therapist once again listened to me for a full 60 minutes. My main concerns were things I can't change, like other people's personalities and the fact that we're doing all this mental health work in a false situation so does it really count? I basically questioned the point of our sessions and expressed that I was concerned none of it would truly work. And my therapist didn't bat an eyelid. And I know they're not 'supposed to' and they're paid to have conversations like that. Honestly though, it can't be easy to work with people who suffer with anxiety during a global pandemic that is not being controlled well by the country they live in.

Saturday: Twitter is full of images of the riots in America and rightful anger at the situation right now. Included is Nick Cannon, just one example of someone who knows themselves and what's right and will use their platform to fight for that rather than be blinded by the lights of fame. To face down a system that actively oppresses you, people who have killed those like you and be defiant in what is right is absolutely combating adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage and strength.

Sunday: Again Twitter, this time this particular video: https://twitter.com/g0ldie_teee/status/1266929382708465665?s=20. If you haven't seen it, please watch, it is a very real example of J Cole's lyric "I'm dead in the middle of two generations , I'm little bro and big bro all at once". That's how long fighting for basic rights, respect and humanity has been happening. It feels like everything has been tried, yet nothing has worked, but stopping acting is not an option. That perseverance, resilience, is awe-inspiring and heart-breaking. The good fight has to keep going, so that a generation can come along that doesn't have to fight anymore.

Within that, people need to held accountable for their actions, if you want better, you have to be better. But I don't mean that as a judgement on those rioting. Rioting happens for reasons, you have to be better than the reason. We have to rise above racism collectively.

As 2Pac rapped, "Before we find world peace, we gotta find peace in the war on the streets". We have to look after each other locally, before we can unite peacefully globally.

I am in awe of and send so much love and respect to many many people right now. It feels like a there is a lot of adversity being faced across the globe, the COVID-19 virus, the racism disease, to name two. You shouldn't have to be a hero to do your job, it shouldn't take heroic efforts to get anywhere near equality. Milgram's Stanford Prison Experiment should have stayed in the lab, and Contagion should only be viewable through a screen. But they're not.

We're here, we're now, and we have heroes to thank.

I hope their selflessness and innate sense of right inspires us all so that we can move forwards to better.