1) Tough yr 4 an optimist. I spent those first mths in spring just reading. Came out in May w/ 100% conviction that

mRNA vaccines are the future
Only timeline that mattered was FDA's
Trump will be gone

I wanted to tell everyone who'd listen, but wouldn't because

2) ppl were/are dying/scared and knowing what's happening a year from now is worthless. Plus, I'm just a nobody who'd be taking up space that experts could use to get their message out. I was saying this quietly a lot in May https://twitter.com/zackisland/status/1264975860144144384?s=20

3) But why will we be stronger?

- Science and innovation will prevail
- Gen z has been inspired by civic duty
- Family bonds are closer
- The economy and government will come out more agile
- We've had time to reflect on what matters
- (mRNA vaccines are groundbreaking!)

4) We're in a tough spot right now, many didn't and won't make it. I have family hanging on by a thread, but I'm certain my kids will bear the fruits of their hardship. If we can agree there was a wound in 2019 then we can imagine 2020 as the painful cauterization

5) In science class we learned about how tree saplings need strong winds to create micro-fractures along its stem, which heal and make it stronger. The ones *not* exposed to wind grow weak and topple over. This exists all over nature - suffering is a constant, but so is growth

6) That simple high school lesson has stuck with me, even as I've suffered tremendously in life. My definition of an optimist is not someone who doesn't think bad things will happen, but someone who knows bad things *have* to happen, but we always come out ahead

7) So where to go from here?

- Spread optimism. Not optimism that this will all go away, but that we can *make* it go away with hard work
- Bet on STEM. Bet everything. The countries that invest the most now will be the ones who lead the new world

8) History has shown countless times that when science is forced to save lives, it does so, and the result pushes society in a direction that was better than if nothing had happened in the first place. "Per aspera ad astra"