There is Still Time (Keep Hope)

On January 20th, 2025 I got my second tattoo. It’s easy to remember the date, because it was the day perhaps the worst president ever was inaugurated. We all knew it would be a rough day, so one of the local tattoo artists had a special flash day to give us all something to smile about. The design I chose, as it turns out, was inspired by the movie “I Saw the TV Glow,” unbeknownst to me.

I hadn’t even heard of the movie at that time, but still, the words themselves spoke to me. They still do. “There is still time.” Eventually, I plan to watch the movie, but I can’t deny I’m a little afraid it will affect how I see my tattoo. I already have a backup plan if it does, as it wouldn’t be too hard to change the “font,” and I think that would be plenty, should I fall on the side of people who the movie didn’t speak to.

I’ve been considering watching it soon, knowing there’s a pretty decent trans following, but before I do, perhaps I should explain what the tattoo means to me. I got it in a very visible place for a reason, on my wrist. I wanted it to be a reminder. So, this post will be for everyone who happens to need the same reminder: There is still time.

It was easy to feel like time was running out on January 20th—time for my people (the trans and queer community) and for all minorities who are villianized by the current administration (a long list, I know)—and really just for the sanity of our country in general. It felt absolutely heartbreaking to me that anyone could possibly celebrate this horrible man’s ascension to a position he never, ever deserved. And here, so many people were doing just that. How could we ever get past this? How could things ever get better from here?

Something I’ve had to remind myself almost daily since then is that sometimes things have to get worse before they can ever get better. Why? Because the worse things become, the more people are forced to take notice. And the more people who take notice, the more power we all hold. There is power in numbers. We’ve lost a lot of good people in the year plus that this evil man has been in power. It’s really really hard sometimes to stay positive in the face of all that has been lost.

But, what if we focus on what we have gained, instead? More people are waking up to the evil of this administration every single day. Every time they hurt one of us, the rest of us are bolstered by the new allies we gain. If we focus on what we lose instead of what we gain, we are only allowing them to win. They want us to feel weak and hopeless. Weak and hopeless people don’t fight back. ANGRY people fight back. I don’t know about you, but I’m furious. I refuse to allow myself or any of those around me to lose hope that love WILL overcome hate in the end.

There is still time. There is still time for eyes to open, for dreams to come true, for love to win for once and for all. I got the tattoo on that hateful day, however, it means a lot more to me than just a rebellion against our fascist regime. For the last couple of years, I have been dwelling a lot on my place in the world and what I want to do with the one life I was given. A lot of that does have to do with my father passing, but my mind was already made up that I would not allow myself to remain a cog in a machine long before that.

In many ways, I feel like a failure for allowing myself to be manipulated and overtaken by capitalism for so much of my life. There are so many other, more fulfilling career paths I could’ve taken. Paths I almost took, even. I actually allowed a middle school art teacher to tell me I wasn’t an artist for most of my life. I regret that too. I have a lot of regrets, if I allow myself to look at them that way. But, what if, instead, I look at them more constructively?

For example, I can use my education in marketing, communication, journalism, and public relations to help educate others on ways they can escape the rat race. I can use it to expose the issues we all face on a daily basis. I can use it to change lives. But I have to believe in myself enough to do it. Perhaps I’ve “wasted” a lot of it… but there is still time. And was it really a waste if during that time I learned lessons that will help propel me (and others) forward in the future? I don’t think so.

At the end of a relationship, it’s easy to look back on your time with that person as a “waste.” But that’s such a pessimistic and, honestly, hurtful way to look at things. Look at it, instead, as a learning experience. Now you know what doesn’t work for you. And if you’re lucky, you got some fun memories along the way, and maybe, like me, gained a friend. There is still time to find love. People are getting in and out of relationships every single day. Maybe the person you’ve been looking for was in one before, but now that you’re also single… so are they.

No matter what your situation or your worry, I want you to know that there is still time for your dreams. There is still time for happiness. But you have to do your part to seek it out. If you sit around waiting for your dreams to come to you, they never ever will. You are in charge of your own destiny and it’s never too late. You still have time. We all do. Follow your heart, reach for your dreams, alter your perspective, and refocus on what really matters to you. Focus on what brings you joy.

Maybe you did something stupid that you regret and now you think you’ve ruined your only chance at happiness. I think it’s pretty rare (hopefully impossible) that we only get one chance at happiness. Chasing your joy is a decision you make every single day. Maybe you didn’t make that decision yesterday or the day before, but you can make it today. There is still time. Approach that situation with love and care and hope, and you might be surprised to find you have a second chance. But if you tell yourself it’s too late, then it is. Because you aren’t doing what’s required to change your own fate.

Life isn’t just something that happens to you. You have a role to play. So play it. Take charge of your life, your fate, your destiny. Fight for what you want or you will lose it every time. Don’t just give up before you’ve even begun.

I’ll even give you a cheesy little illustration based on one of my favorite movies, You’ve Got Mail. It has a great soundtrack and I love the way it serves as a time capsule for New York in the 90s. But I also love the story. If you haven’t seen it, I’m going to ruin the plot a little bit, so consider yourself warned. Also go watch it. Anyway, in the movie, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks have been communicating on AOL but didn’t know each other in person whatsoever. But they do meet, and it goes HORRIBLY.

Hanks’ character is honestly pretty unlikable for a good portion of the film, I mean he and his giant Barnes and Noble-style bookstore basically put Ryan’s little children’s bookstore out of business in a matter of months, all the while he tries to hide who he is. But he can’t deny the connection they have, so he continues to chat and email her online. I don’t necessarily approve of the way he goes about it, it’s rather manipulative to be honest. But, he doesn’t give up. He goes after the woman that he can’t get out of his head.

In the end, she actually falls in love with him knowing full well he is the one that put her out of business. Not even just in spite of the fact, either. She begins to write her own children’s books, a dream she didn’t even know she had. It’s something she never would’ve even considered had the events not taken place the way that they did. She even thanks him in the end. It’s messy, it’s ugly, but everything works out. And, surprisingly enough, I think it’s actually pretty realistic for a romantic comedy.

To be cliche, life is an adventure, not a destination. You don’t get to just skip to the happy ending. Sometimes you have to go through a whole slew of horrible before you get to the good. But if you put in the work to get there, you will. I find that, often, things play out exactly as they were supposed to—even if it’s hard to see it in the moment. Chase your happiness and remember that no matter what happens on the way there it’s not the end. There is still time. <3