It would be an understatement to say that we are living in a stressful time. Our generation, Generation Z, is no stranger to “unprecedented times” or living through history making events. A global pandemic, highly contentious elections, social and political unrest, and vast periods of economic distress have been witnessed and felt by all of us. As a result, it is no surprise that we as a generation are burnt out or jaded against the idea of having hope for our futures. Hope can be an incredibly hard thing to find in a time like this. Seeing decades worth of hard-fought rights and protections be signed away overnight and headlines that seem to get exponentially more cartoonish by the day is exhausting and demoralizing. So what do we do?

God, I wish I had a definitive answer. It is an answer that we, as a people, have been searching for for centuries. Knowing this fact however, has brought me much comfort. This semester, I am enrolled in Dr. Johnson’s Writing as Community course. In it, we are doing research on various archives, their practices, and the stories and philosophies that make up the collections. In this class I have been able to see first hand accounts of people's experiences of resistance, resilience, and joy in the face of oppression. This has served as a reminder that survival is not only possible, but inevitable.

In our class, we zoomed with the director of the LBGT+ Archive Project of Louisiana, Frank Perez. One of my classmates asked him what he wished he had more of in the archive and his answer was “personal reminiscences.” This immediately struck me. You mean, my memories and experiences are actually important? According to Frank and many other archivists and historians: YES! It is important to document your life and your memories so that there is no erasing you. So, what is my point? It may feel like there is absolutely nothing of significance you can do right now. You may feel powerless but you are not. If you have a memory, an identity, and the ability to write, you have something that no-one can take away from you. 

The Conglomerate exists as a student-run, independent news entity. This is an incredibly valuable thing to have. With us, you have a voice. What are the issues you want to bring attention to? What are the campus events that you want someone, a hundred years from now to know happened? What is on your mind? All of these things have a home in these (web)pages. What you have to say matters not only now, but will continue to matter in ways we cannot even predict. So, dear reader, do not be erased, do not be silenced, let us be your megaphone. You know where to find us.

Similar Reads