Alarmed That’s right, I am the snooze-master
Illustration by Dani Alvarez.
I’m a real snoozer. I’m not talking about being boring (topic for another day), but I am a snoozer in the sense that I hit my alarm snooze button ten or more times every morning, pushing away the iPhone tones to avoid the inevitability of a new annoying morning.
I have been pressing snooze on a lot of issues lately, though, not just as a way to disallow time for showering before work.
Here are some examples of a few alarms that regularly go off in my brain:
Alarm: “You hate your job, and hate who you have become at your job.”
Me, snoozing: “But, like, you need the money, so just keep working and stop complaining about it.”
Alarm: “This man at work is using your hard work for his gain, and also is clearly making more money than you are for doing almost nothing.”
Me, snoozing: “But, you’re trying to leave soon anyway, you don’t wanna cause drama. Besides, what will really change? Your [male] bosses think he’s great, so just keep it to yourself.”
Alarm: “You feel really strongly about issues A, B, and C* in the country/government right now.”
Me, snoozing: “But, you don’t know a lot and don’t have real experience with any of these issues. Also the country (and the earth) are so large, what difference do you really think you can make? Just…shhhh.”
That’s right, I am the snooze-master.
I can’t really say that the results of the election were the first “wake up call” for me, but I will say that week, that terrible second week of November, I finally got tired of hitting the snooze button.
Especially when it comes to my art.
The question I continue to ask myself is: how will I handle this? Will I play the part of the dreamer? The escapist? The glass-half-full-neutral-stance-girl? Your friend who draws you cute things that you “double tap” and skim over as you mindlessly scroll through your curated social content?
Write something real, draw something important, make something worth it and let’s shake some shit up.
Some days, I’d like to be that for you. And some days, I will.
But I can’t sleep forever. And neither can you.
The things that I share with you, dear friends and family, are a reflection of myself, of my current place in the world, of my feelings and my fears. Sometimes, they are simply a glimpse into my brain where weird dudes live and work and play. The things that I don’t share, however, are sometimes overly cynical or too sad, angry, or emotional to post online. My reasons for not posting these are the same as my reasons for not posting #Iwokeuplikethis selfies because, ain’t nobody ready for that shit.
But it’s time you got ready. Because some days, I’d like to share with you that knowing that I work harder for less pay is exhausting, both physically and emotionally. I’d like to tell you that I suppress a lot of what I should say to people in order to remain likable, which I only recently realized has made me like myself less. I want to scream that I am infuriated by the results of this election, that a man — unqualified and ignorant — has been elected who has not only (temporarily) taken away my confidence, but has put my friends of various backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, genders, and sexual orientations in danger, threatening their lives and security with his flippant remarks and the atrocious people he has brought into his inner circle.
So, you and I can continue to snooze our loud and buzzing iPhones, skip a shower and eat half of a granola bar for breakfast—but it’s time to wake up and stop snoozing our feelings, our art and our common future.
Write something real, draw something important, make something worth it and let’s shake some shit up.
Love you, all of you.
—Dani
P.S. Also, call your congresspeeps, donate some cash if you have it, volunteer your time, and talk to the people around you. Every. Single. Little. Bit. Counts.
*Dani’s List of Issues (click to learn more)
A: Gun Control
How bout some more?
D: Immigration
E: Refugees
Obviously, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Please add any suggestions for other organizations in the comments!
