I'm Uncomfortable

Jun 05, 2020

Hey everyone,

To say the least, this week has been a lot. The protests and riots and she said and he said has me feeling overwhelmed and also, a bit embarrassed.

Embarrassed because it took this long for me, as a white woman, to realize how silently I lived in a society that favors certain people, purely based on the lightness of their skin. By staying silent, I perpetuated racism. And now that it’s flooding our social media and taking to our streets, my eyes have opened.

I’m uncomfortable that I was part of the problem. With that being said, I don’t want to ignore being uncomfortable. Within this feeling, there is room for change.

“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it,”
- Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist.

By feeling uncomfortable, you’re admitting to yourself there is an issue. Through that realization, you can choose one of two things: alleviate your feelings by going back to your old ways or moving forward to fix the issue at hand.

I think this phenomenon occurs in many facets of our lives. Obviously, through realizing your certain privileges inherently gift you with privileges in society. But also in terms of making any significant changes.

Feeling uncomfortable is a sign of growth, plain and simple. If you are unhappy at your job, you feel that gnawing thought that you wish you had a different job. When you’re first dating someone, wanting to say you love them makes your stomach flip upside down. Any big life decision, for the most part, creates discomfort.

But that doesn’t mean you should run from the discomfort. You need to lean into it.

Often, discomfort is a great guide to show us what we need to work on. It’s a way of knowing that a certain path can radically change things. Working through discomfort also helps us come out stronger on the other end.

To be honest, I felt discomfort in writing anything about the racial injustice in the US in this week’s newsletter. But I knew running to a place that felt safe would be doing many more people than me a disservice.

Discomfort is an overarching theme we’ll feel a lot in our lives. If you’re currently feeling uncomfortable because of racial injustice being brought to light, I implore you to lean into it.