Did you see I added a cherry blossoms page to my website?! Well, I did! • In this time of uncertainty and stress, where things have been heavy for quite the extended period of time (oh, about ten months or so!), looking forward to cherry blossoms season is giving me LIFE! • While I’m not making any promises as to whether we’ll be able to access the tidal basin this year, I am excited that there are still other places we can see the blossoms and even take pictures with them. I know it’s still a couple of months off, and at the same time, it’s something fun to day dream about. 
“Let me offer you some free advice: Talk less… smile more. Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for. Wanna get ahead? Fools who run their mouths oft’ wind up dead.” • Did anyone else’s jaw drop and eyes roll hard when they heard this? I think the world is becoming less and less tolerant of those who talk less and smile more; who purposely don’t let you know what they’re against or what they’re for. And let’s remember, in the story told in Hamilton, the guy who said this’s legacy didn't exactly end up untarnished, shall we say. • While I’ve shared vigorously in my ‘stories’ the past week, it’s taken a while to compose my own thoughts, and frankly, very triggering to look at my own photos of the Capitol, that I wanted to post here. • One thing I love about working in DC is that it’s a dynamic place - it holds a lot of history and many truths. There’s space for all of it. (Well, almost all of it.) As a political science major in college, it’s easy for me to understand what this city stands for and know it belongs to all of us. I have understanding and empathy when the city is used for protests, even ones I don’t personally resonate with and even when they greatly inconvenience me, because I see them as a demonstration of one way our country is beautiful and unique. • What happened a week ago and the threats the city continues to face is nothing short of domestic terrorism, and it’s scary AF. It’s horrific. It’s beyond disheartening that this is what we’ve come to, especially when it was done/is being done in the name of patriotism and love of country. This is the exact opposite of that. • It feels aligned for me to speak out against hypocrisy, hate, violence, and terrorism. It feels aligned for me to not mince words when holding responsible and complicit parties accountable. And I applaud others - individuals, businesses, politicians, and other officials who have done the same. • It’s been over four years of a dehumanizing, narcissistic (continued in comments)... 
Excited for more beautiful photos this year of lovely people like Sarah & Eric! 
Here's to better days ahead in 2021...