you are strong

I first saw this video six months ago, and each time I've watched I tear up a little. Not just because it's brilliant, but because it's got so few views, it's almost criminal.

It is beautiful, fierce and represents a world I want for my daughters.
It represents.
On so many levels.

Now, in a time of COVID, Sia's lyrics are even more poignant. The economic, social and medical impact of this pandemic will fall disproportionately on the young and the dispossessed.

If you're Pacific Islander, if you're Māori, if you're Asian, if you're indigenous, if you're poor, if you're disabled, if you're transgendered, if you're an immigrant, if you're a refugee, if you're alone in the world we designed and built to facilitate the individual and the privileged, you have suffered and will suffer more in the months ahead.

I sat in tears today, thinking of the many students for whom schools are no longer accessible for a month, as a result of the lockdown of Aotearoa in response to the threat of COVID-19.

Students who will lose access to the one place in their daily existence that keeps them warm, that offers them a place to be safe, that holds a book just for them, that is where they can meet that one friend, that is where they can chat with the only adult they trust.

I don't deny the wisdom of this decision, it is critical if we are to not be overwhelmed. But it is a time of being overwhelmed, and of uncertainty.

So for them, and those kaiako that stand with and for them each day....

Uh-oh, running out of breath, but I
Oh, I, I got stamina

The truth is, not everyone will make it through this time.
The truth is, it's OK to be afraid,
to be fearful.

Uh-oh, running now, I close my eyes
But, oh oh, I got stamina

The truth is, we don't always win.
The truth is, life is incredibly hard
and unfair.

Don't give up, I won't give up
Don't give up, no no no

The truth is, you don't deserve this.
The truth is, it's not about deserving
or being of worth.

Ay, I am the truth
Ay, I am the wisdom of the fallen, I'm the youth

The truth is, you matter more right now than ever before
The truth is, your skin is beautiful
and you are seen.

Letdowns'll get you, and the critics will test you
But the strong'll survive, another scar may bless you, ah

The truth is, we failed you
The truth is, be angry, be righteous,
be strong.

I'm free to be the greatest, I'm alive
I'm free to be the greatest here tonight, the greatest  

The truth is, you are.