“We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) spoke these words in 1933 amid the United States suffering its fourth year of the Great Depression. Then, as now, it seemed the scaffolding that supported the American dream had buckled. Everything once considered normal had collapsed into an unrecognizable heap of wasted effort and failed aspirations.

his statement from an influential conservative commentator terrifies me, and that’s not a comment on Glenn Beck’s political positions. It is to say that when journalism is under fire, we all are. A weakening of the Fourth Estate is dangerous to both sides of any political aisle, including mainstream parties, the center and the fringes.

The increasingly popular argument that the news media are the enemy of the people is antithetical to their function in a democratic society: to serve as the main source for informed decision making by the people, for the people. As a career public relations practitioner turned educator, I believe vehemently that this anti-media trend is dangerous and that it’s my profession’s duty, as well as that of journalists everywhere, to ensure the principles and practices of professional journalism are supported.

n the 19th Century, if you could not read or write, it was common to sign legal documents with an “X.”

Countless Americans moved through history in this way.

am blessed. I will never forget the day I realized others were not.

It was winter in 2012 and I was five years old. It was a cold day. I was with my auntie under a viaduct at lower Wacker in downtown Chicago. She had made chili for people who lived under the viaduct and brought my cousins and I with her to help hand it out. I had so many questions.

ave you ever realized, in hindsight, you were asked a million-dollar question only to realize your response could have been so much more…effective?

I was recently asked the difference between bias and privilege by a group of individuals at varying levels of leadership in an organization. The setting was an interview panel, and this was not the main topic of our meeting. The ensuing response was a quick elevator-ride definition that felt shallow to me in hindsight due to time constraints. This is a topic requiring much more thought and discussion.

s the years pass, it feels as though the frequency of crucial decisions increases, as does the intensity and costs of related consequences. There still exists a part of me that strives to minimize the frequency of wrong choices, but over time I appreciate more and more that it is less about the number of right or wrong choices, and more important how I choose to respond to the outcomes of those choices. There is a line in the 1989 bestselling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. It describes what it means to be responsible, the ability to choose your response – RESPONSE-ABILITY.

t was the beginning of March. I was one week away from traveling to Europe to start prepping a romantic comedy, Movie of the Week, for the Hallmark Channel. The first part of the project was scheduled to be filmed in a small village in Bulgaria, with the remainder to be shot in Paris. Not bad places to set up shop and do what you do for a living while experiencing some beautiful places. With the Network targeting a full slate of projects, all signs pointed to very good year for film production.

In the blink of an eye, everything changed for all of us. At first, the collective thought that we could still make the movie. There were no travel restrictions, but there was a great deal of uncertainty as to what we could execute in a safe manner. Anticipating the need for some changes, we created a plan B, then a plan C, then a plan D, when reality hit; all production was shut down. Like so many, our focus shifted dramatically to a “new normal” for living our lives safely.

hen I was 12 or 13 years old, I saw a grunge band video on MTV showing teenagers running from abusive homes and ending up on the street. In one scene, a brown-haired girl was dragged into a van by grown men. As I watched, my heart raced. I felt my face get hot and a lump rose in my throat. I thought, “That is how I’m going to die.” I understood the scene because I was living on and off the street, dodging alleys and predators and at times physically fighting for my life. After one particularly brutal evening, courtesy of my mom’s boyfriend, I sat while the police took pictures of my injuries. I was told to pack a backpack and that I was going into foster care that night. I went to my room, climbed out of the second-story window, maneuvered down a gas line and fled into the dark. I didn’t know it at the time, but that night was the catalyst for what would become my passion, career and personal mission – to help young people.

hat is your ultimate objective in life? Discovering your purpose and why you’re here? Finding meaning in your existence and events as they unfold?

Most likely, we can agree that we want the same for ourselves as we do our children – to flourish and get the most out of life. This was the message that my six-year-old son, Jesse, left for his older brother shortly before his murder in a Connecticut school shooting. Scrawled on a little piece of folded graph paper, these prophetic words – “Have a Lot of fun” – constituted an ultimate goal for us all.

Jack Canfield, author, motivational speaker, and founder of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, said, “The biggest rewards in life are found outside your comfort zone. Live with it. Fear and risk are prerequisites if you want to enjoy a life of success and adventure.” The Cambridge dictionary defines comfort zone as “a situation in which you feel comfortable and in which your ability and determination are not being tested.” Does this sound familiar? Probably not right now. In this moment in history we are all, most likely, outside our comfort zones.

During a global pandemic, social unrest and an uncertain future, you can find yourself in this domain with an option of living in fear or choosing courage. The good news is that when you’re outside your comfort zone, you can move into a growth zone, a place where you can acquire knowledge and adapt. This is a constructive and expansive territory that allows you the opportunity to explore beyond where you have normally existed. This is also where your brain engages its learning centers and you gain new skills, understanding and the ability to thrive beyond your current situation.