December 31, 2024

Hello, friend. I come to you once again, in the quiet moment. As it gets colder, the frogs bring their chorus to a close, and they go to sleep until warmer weather. Sometimes I wish I could be like them. I wish I could lay down in the muddy bosom of mother nature, and sleep until fairer weather comes around. Unfortunately, I am a human and not a frog. Although, after reflecting on how things have gone over this past year, with my grandma and then the whole Duke situation, I think there are things humans can learn from frogs. 

If you’ve ever heard a bunch of Frogs singing, it’s not exactly pretty. None of them are in tune with each other, they don’t have the same vocal range as a bird, and the end result just makes them sound like they’re singing completely different songs. It might be strange, but I like it a lot. It makes me wonder, if humans could be like them, how different would life be? Would there be war? Would children go hungry? Would it be possible for me to be friends with someone like Duke? Would I have to sleep in a tent behind a gas station? Even though we each have a different song to sing, if we forgot about all the hate and politics for just a moment. Could we too be like the frogs? Could we come together in that same beautiful dissonance and appreciate those differences? 

As I write this, I once again realize that these questions don’t really matter. Humans are not frogs, but if I’ve learned one thing from everything that’s happened this year, there’s always hope.

For now, I’ll just wait until I hear that familiar frog song again. The next time I hear it; I’ll be in a new town with someone who loves me. 

Thank you for always listening, friend.

• Hope