Dylan Yoder
Columnist
It’s the start of the school year and the final end of the Christmas season, which leaves us with colder temperatures and the absence of kids at home. Needless to say, the start of the new year can leave some feeling lonely, and let’s be honest, those kids don’t typically enjoy going back to their studies either. The snowless chills of January can be quite difficult to get through depending on the people close to you. That being said, good things still happen in our world. Bits and pieces of good news happen on a daily basis. So if you’re feeling kind of down with the end of Christmas cheer, perhaps take a look at some New Year’s cheer instead.
If you’re like most sane people in this region, you probably follow college sports, and if you do follow college sports you’ll know that the focus sharply turns to basketball as the football season ends. You’ll also know that the season has come up to a blazing start as the Kansas State Wildcats have achieved a perfect 4-0 record as of January 11th. If you’re not a Cats fan, no worries, we will pray for you. But it’s good news for you too as Kansas University also leads the conference with a 4-0 record as of the 11th. This year’s Big 12 conference is shaping up to be a good one for our midwest home state, and we can only hope it stays that way.
On a larger geographical scale, we have good news happening in other places in our country. Mississippi has reported an increase in the number of adoptions from its foster care system as of 2023. Since their budget year began on July 1st of 2022 the foster care system has reported over 600 adoptions, and 25% of those adoptions took place within the last 2 months. That in and of itself is a thing to smile about. Kids getting the homes that they deserve.
In Wichita, we have a bit of good news as a Valley Hope location opens up in Wichita. This organization is dedicated to helping individuals with addictions to drugs, alcohol, or a number of other things. With the number of overdoses and drug use on the rise in Wichita, this is a nice turnaround. In order to heal our communities that are broken due to the abuse of such substances, we must first show kindness and healing to those who need it, and that’s exactly what Valley Hope is hoping to do.
The Midwest isn’t the only place that has experienced weird weather over the past several weeks as California has achieved near-record snowfall on its Sierra Nevadas. The heavy storms from earlier in the month dumped significant snowpack on this area that could potentially be what locals are calling a “drought buster”. Perhaps with this extra precipitation our far western friends will be able to avoid the wildfires that plague their state consistently every year.
Needless to say, there is plenty of good news that has happened in these first few weeks of 2023. It’s a good sign for the new year and we can only hope that it keeps up. While there are plenty of things that can potentially get us down in the dumps, there are also things that can lift our spirits happening all around us. Occasionally we have to look a little harder for them, but with a little persistence and a tablespoon of optimism, you too will be able to see the good in the world.
