Better Days are Ahead

But for now, we fight.

January 2026 came swinging. And it meant business.

I find myself at a loss for words by all it brought. And that’s rare for me. I am usually never without them. But January? It took them right out of my mouth. And how could it not, when day after day after day, someone or something else finds the words for me. Speaking them out of turn. Biased. Well-intending yet gauche. Bold yet frightening.

They’re everywhere. The screens. The texts. The leaders. The followers. Everyone and everything has words. So many words they’ve filled the skies and taken over the clouds. Like our elders feel their knees ache when rain is coming, those of us who are younger feel the next headline before it lands. And immediately, everything turns gray and comes crashing down.

How long will this country remain colorless?

It feels cowardly to abandon post, especially now. But what do I do when my heart is no longer in it? I wonder if things will be different by the time I leave. But right now, I need to feel the sun again.

Chasing the sun means more than finding warmth in different parts of the world. The sun, to me, is happiness. Health. Soul. Being alive. The pleasure is no longer just about traveling; it’s about finding the places that make me feelsomething. I no longer feel here.

Moving again was not in my plans in January 2025. But look how fast life moves. I must go home. My real home. With my family. For good this time.

I have always let job pursuits and career direction lead me. Now, it’s time to let the sun lead.

It feels harsh, and sometimes scary, to leave so much behind. Will I find a new job? Where will I live? Will I meet someone good for me this time? Will I finally settle for good? Will my sun shine again?

So many questions. Answers I will have to earn. Will I start finding them in a month? Two? Three? I don’t know. But what I do know is that it is time to go. Better days are ahead.

There was a time when I loved learning about politics, history, geography. Understanding how interconnected we are. Deciphering why we are the way we are, as humans, as a society, as an entity. God brought us all here for a reason; the rest, we made our own.

But these days, it abhors me to know that all we’ve become stems from our disobedience and our dissonance. We carried ourselves too far. Exploiting more than we need. Do they not want the sun to shine?

I carry the penitence of knowing more could be done, yet so little happens. And lately, it pains me deeply to witness so much hurt and chaos unfolding. Some days, it feels easier to wilt away than to fight it.

And that’s exactly what they want.

It cannot happen.

So I brace myself. I remain brave, even when I don’t want to be. In a time full of uncertainty, one thing is certain: being with yours matters more than ever. We must stay united, in heart and in presence.

I urge you to fight for your sun. Find joy where you can. Eat the sweets. Play with the children. Watch your favorite shows. Read the latest novels. Stay informed. But do not let your sun hide behind the clouds of words.

It’s easy to forget that you are in charge of your life, even when it doesn’t feel like it. It could be any of us that atrocities happen to. But it could also be any of us who make a change.

For me, finding my sun means going home.
For you - what will it be?

Be brave. Be bold. Be present.
Be happy. Be healthy. Be soulful. Be alive.
Be your own sun.

I’ll see you when I find mine again. Until then, look at one of the places where I found it.

Les Almadies, Dakar, Senegal

Until much later,
Mel