Change Is in the Air
Last spring, I wrote about my reliance on nature to mark the passage of time during lock down. I don’t have to look outside my window for long to see that there is change in the air.

The leaf buds I described in the blog post are now fiery red leaves. I’ve always loved looking at fall foliage, but I’ve gained a new appreciation for red leaves after I learned the color is intentional. Red leaves in the fall don’t come from the loss of the pigment chlorophyll, as is the case for yellow leaves. Rather, red leaves result from the active production of the pigment anthocyanin. This pigment acts as sunscreen for the leaf after chlorophyll loss (harvard.edu). It’s less of a random side effect, and more of a successful adaptation.
Nature isn’t the only thing changing—our whole country is changing too. Four years ago, on November 11, 2016, the GeekGirlCon blog featured a post called To the Future. Now, on November 11, 2020, I can happily report that we stand closer to the future that we dreamed about four long years ago. How amazing is it that we elected the first Black and South Asian woman to the vice presidency? There are other firsts, too: Delaware voted in the first transgender state senator, New Mexico elected all women of color to the House, and Oklahoma voted in the first nonbinary state legislator, to name a few (npr.org).
Change takes a lot of work, and there’s a lot more work to be done. Before we all get back to it, take a moment to savor this feeling. Go outside and breathe in the cold, damp fall air tinged with the scent of rotting leaves. Note the multicolored leaves in the trees and on the ground, a stark contrast to the grey Seattle skies. Rejoice that we have only 50 days left in 2020!
Revel in these sensations, and then—back to work.
