“When it is all too much, when the news is so bad meditation itself feels useless, and a single life feels too small a stone to offer on the altar of peace, find a Human Sunrise. Find those people who are committed to changing our scary reality. Human sunrises are happening all over the Earth, at every moment. People gathering, people working to change the intolerable, people coming in their robes and sandals or in their rags and bare feet, and they are singing, or not, and they are chanting, or not. But they are working to bring peace, light, compassion, to the infinitely frightening downhill slide of human life." ― Alice Walker
Dear Dreamer,
This is my first letter of 2026 and I want to be honest with you...it already feels like a lot. January is supposed to be "Self-Love Month," but it can feel impossible when we're faced with an escalating stream of devastating news. Many of us are carrying fear, anger, grief, and confusion all at once.
You may have also seen the recent viral footage and reporting surrounding the death of Renee Nicole Good (a white US citizen and mother of three), who was shot in the head at close range by an ICE agent. What has been especially painful for many is not only the loss of life, but the way it has been debated, denied, or reframed instead of being met with accountability and humanity by the Trump administration.
Renee was not the first person to die in an encounter with ICE and she will likely not be the last.
What may feel newly shocking to some has long been a lived reality for others.
“Why should the killers of the world be 'the future' and not us?" ― Alice Walker, The Way Forward is with a Broken Heart
For decades, immigrant and marginalized communities (especially Black, brown, indigenous, disabled, LGBTQ+ people) have lived with the constant awareness that violence, discrimination, surveillance, and death are daily possibilities.
At the same time, facing violence and suffering is not a competition and acknowledging one reality does not erase another. It's all just putting a bigger spotlight on it. That shared fear can either divide us or bring us closer to the understanding that none of us are truly safe while any one of us is treated as disposable.
If you're feeling scared, overwhelmed, or full of rage, you're not failing at facing this reality.
“We are the ones we have been waiting for." ― Alice Walker, Inner Light in a Time of Darkness
You're responding like a human being in a world that feels increasingly unstable as the rich and powerful few toy with us. But we cannot despair if we want to stay sharp.
As I shared in my 2025 end-of-year letter on December 31st, Audre Lorde said, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."
Caring for ourselves does not mean turning away from suffering. It means caring for our bodies, minds, and spirits enough that we can keep showing up, paying attention, and acting with integrity.
I can't pretend these events don't terrify me. Even so, I refuse to look away.
I am a daughter of immigrants. I am an American born Chinese. I am queer. I grew up learning early on in life that belonging here was an unwinnable test that was conditional and easily revoked. No amount of silence or "good behavior" has ever truly guaranteed safety for those of us who are easily othered.
While this reality has often tried to erase me, it has only made me want to fight even more fiercely for my existence on my own terms.
“Part of what existence means to me is knowing the difference between what I am now and what I was then...It is being able to tell when I am being wronged and by whom. It means being awake to protect myself and the ones I love. It means being a part of the world community, and being alert to which part it is that I have joined, and knowing how to change to another part if that part does not suit me. To know is to exist: to exist is to be involved, to move about, to see the world with my own eyes." ― Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mother's Gardens: Prose
And what continues to give me hope are the diverse stories and people that have taught me again and again, that change has always come from ordinary people refusing to look away.
From books that revealed how deeply interconnected our lives truly are, to art that reminds us of our shared humanity even when oppressive systems try to pit us against each other.
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." ― Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple
All of this brings me back to the same question I now begin with before making any piece of art and jewelry:
How do I create art and jewelry that speaks on pursuing Dreams and Wonderlands when so many people are denied the chance to dream at all?
And as I've said in my blog post, "Finding Wonderland in a Broken World," I believe it's holding onto our humanity and our imagination of something better that saves us from going numb. It's what reminds us that kidnapping, tearing families apart, and loss of life should never be normalized no matter how many times we see it in the news cycle.
Art, books, libraries, and education keep our hearts and minds open. That is precisely why access to them is being increasingly restricted, censored, or devalued. A society that wants blind obedience cannot afford to have a population that reads widely and practices empathy for each other.
So, if your heart is breaking, it's because you believe we can be (and have been) better than this.
“A writer's heart, a poet's heart, an artist's heart, a musician's heart is always breaking. It is through that broken window that we see the world." ― Alice Walker
If you feel scared right now, it's because you know everything is not alright. And the part of you that wants to look away BUT chooses not to is what makes you strong.
Please keep checking on the people you love, paying attention, learning, calling people in, and noticing where you are needed. We keep each other safe by staying awake to reality while still daring to dream of a better future.
There is a place for you. There always has been. And we are stronger when we refuse to let anyone convince us otherwise.
With love and hope,
<3 Melissa
P.S. If you know someone is hurting, lost or scared, share this letter to them.
And the upcoming Mending Collection rings feel like they've taken on an even more urgent meaning with world events. It's given me a lot more to think about before I launch them.
Join my Dreamer's Circle Newsletter to get early access to magical designs, special gifts & uplifting letters to help you stay inspired on your journey.