what you want it to be, fi nd a damn map, and just walk it and you will be there. Hope, Happiness and Health in 2021 By Julia Hage-Welsh Community Leaders Share Their Concepts of the Future Focused on the Future Ken Leslie The future just happened, just now. When you started this article is now in the past. When you were One of the biggest secrets I have learned in my life is there are no secrets to success, none. No matter the career there are already roadmaps to success. These maps with the directions have been printed by those who have already been where we want to go - and they are available to us, for free. Finding the roadmap to your future really is that simple!!! And it shows you every step you need to take to get to YOUR future. You just have to take the steps, that is ALL! Period. Simply walking the steps on your map. That is it. It’s that simple. going to read this article, it was the future. Now you are reading it, you are now in the present. But the next paragraph is in the future. Being in the present is where we all live. Right now, in this sentence. And many, so many wish we were living in the past. But we live in the now. Right now. But in this right now, you can focus on your future. What will it look like? It will look like whatever the hell you make it look like. Seriously! Page 4 I’m a simple guy, and I like ‘simple’. So put another way: say you want your future to consist of getting a book from the library and for you to be sitting at home reading it tonight. That book WILL be yours simply by following the map to get there, and TAKING the STEPS needed to get to the damn library. See, no secret, map to get you there, you just need to take the steps on the map. If you do not take the steps, you ain’t getting there, and no book for you. So tonight, when the future comes and you don’t have a book to read, you can spend the rest of the night whining about why you do not have a book to read. That’s on you. Bam, that’s it, that simple. For real. So just focus on your future, 2020, a year once set with positive anticipation, left most wishing to fast forward and forget about it. But, what if we think of what 2020 gave to us? It gave us the opportunity to slow down, maybe spend some extra isolated time with family, to celebrate the little things we have, and give kindness back to a world that is living in strife. There are many Americans who have never been in a position to be afraid to not have groceries, toilet paper, or their next paycheck. For many, 2020 opened the door to the reality of sitting in this fear. There are individuals that live in this fear day in and day out. If nothing else, I hope those who were met with unexpected and unusual angst are more thoughtful and empathetic to those who struggle every day. As a part of this fear of not having essential items to survive, a moment should also be taken to think of those that live without the essential item, security in survival. The fear of being killed for being who you are is a true fear for some, a fear that is not only unfair, but is somehow not questioned by others. 2020 milestones include the societal uprising of a population that has been stifl ed and muffl ed for too long. Having the courage to stand up, speak up and cause unrest means that we are that much closer to change. Without moments of unease and discomfort, we cannot begin to explore opportunities to learn and grow. So now what do we allow ourselves to think about for 2021, this future to come for all of us. Do we think about the reclaimed opportunities to travel, go to concerts, eat out at restaurants, and just celebrate big life events? Or do we begin to celebrate the world around us, the people we interact with, and see the differences as beautiful and not as something that hinders. What if 2021 is our opportunity to see things clearly, to not see age, color, gender, ethnicity, societal stature, political party, or other adversity qualifi ers, but rather see humans as humans. See humans as individuals all going through a unique struggle where we have an opportunity to treat each other with kindness, generosity, a helping hand, a lending ear. Be present to serve as assistance to others rather than focusing on ourselves and our needs fi rst. Give someone else the last package of toilet paper at the store, tip a little extra when you order food out, go against unconscious biases if you feel a little less than wholehearted, think about what others might be going through and be an authentic, kind, understanding human throughout your day. We know 2020 wasn’t what was expected, but through our frustration, use what we learned from 2020 to launch us into 2021, where we have the opportunity of a lifetime to rise from the ashes, to think differently, to act differently. My Future, My Focus By: Claire McKenna I am sitting in our new offi ce as I write for the fi rst issue of 2021, which is fi ttingly a look towards the future. But for me, you can’t begin to have hopes for the future without understanding the past. It is staggering to think that by the time you read this, I will have worked for Toledo Streets Newspaper for two years. Granted, this is not a long time in the grand scheme of things, but I initialFostering Community
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