Hello there.
How are you?
How are you really?
How are you doing this year?
This month?
Today?
It’s ok to not be ok.
It’s only been 11 months, but somedays it feels like a lifetime since my post in January stating the US Presidential Candidates on AIA issues. We started this year hopeful and excited to take on the year of 2020, but now it seems 2020 is best appreciated in hindsight.
We, as a nation and members of our global community, have seen and dealt with so many unexpected issues this year. From national disasters, such as the wildfires in California, Oregon, Colorado and Australia, a helicopter crash killing Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, the Harvey Weinstein verdict, the impeachment and acquittal of the President of the United States, Brexit, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down as royals, murder hornets, the Pentagon releasing UFO sighting footage, the Beruit explosion, a global pandemic, the impact COVID19 has had on small businesses, the arts, construction timelines, a never-ending quarantine, working and teaching kids from home, sending children back to school in masks, a tumultuous economy, job losses, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death and subsequent replacement, the exposure of the systemic racial injustices within our country, Black Lives Matter marches, riots, political unrest… The list goes on.
It has been a year. It’s ok to not be ok.
Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow your voice will be heard and counted. Tomorrow there is hope – hope to get through the uncertainty of an election season, to establish a direction for not only our country, but also our state, to continue the work.
As AIA South Dakota’s chair of the Advocacy committee, I invite you to read through AIA National’s Policy Platform published earlier this year.
This platform outlines the three initiatives AIA national has committed to focus on within our Advocacy efforts.
- A Future Economy: When businesses thrives, America thrives.
- Climate Action: Human activity is warming our climate to dangerous levels and carbon from our buildings is a primary culprit.
- Healthy Communities: In towns and cities across the country, deep inequities exist that prevent access to safe and healthy buildings for many Americans. We as a nation must act to provide shelter—a basic human need.
I encourage you to let your voice be heard tomorrow, if you haven’t already, and together we can continue our work to improve this great country and state we call home.
Allison Dvorak, AIA, CPHC, is a member of the AIA South Dakota Board of Directors, liaison to the Emerging Professionals and Communication committees, and an architect in Sioux Falls. She received her M.Arch from North Dakota State University and continues to develop her Master’s thesis of researching and implementing design theories focused on human centered design through speaking engagements, design practice, and one-on-one client education. Allison lives in Sioux Falls with her husband, son and daughter.
Good reminders!