The Morning the World Froze

A piece about the coldness we’re all feeling lately, why silence isn’t neutral, and what it means to speak even when it scared you,

I woke up today and the air felt colder.

Not because a storm is coming — but because it feels like the whole world froze overnight.

It’s funny how ice can disrupt everything.

And I don’t mean snow.

I mean the kind of cold that settles into society

when people stop seeing each other as human beings.

We’re watching chaos unfold like it’s just another news cycle.

“Protest peacefully,” they say — as if that’s ever been enough.

“Boycott. Don’t spend.”

Still nothing changes.

And suddenly the loudest people online have nothing to say.

The ones who love to shout

“my ancestors came here the right way” —

They didn’t.

And the enablers?

They’re the ones who smile through it.

Silence is just another form of violence.

A softer weapon — but still sharp.

I’m so tired.

So tired that I’ve cut almost everyone off.

Because I can’t sit at a table where people read the world

through romance novels and Facebook comments

instead of the actual truth.

So what do we do?

What the hell are any of us supposed to do

when the world is burning

and being quiet feels like dying

but speaking up

feels like dying too?

I woke up today and the air felt colder.

With Love,

Samantha