You’re living history in the making. How will you help make the future brighter?

I personally hated history class. But lately, I’ve been taking comfort in the thought of a classroom full of kids listening to a teacher drone on about some long-gone point in time they weren’t even alive to experience themselves.

It’s calming because it reminds me that all of this will end.

I mean that in two ways.

First, we are in a public health crisis. A pandemic may be unprecedented for us but humanity has lived through them before. Anyone who passed high-school history remembers the plague that affected millions across medieval Europe, and the 1918 influenza that spread world-wide. Decades and centuries from now, students will look back on COVID-19, too. We can all take comfort and find hope in that thought, because it means this crisis will end.

Second, we are in a humanitarian crisis. Some of us have never witnessed social and political movements like the ones we’re watching now. But the anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism that permeates our communities runs deep in our history. When you think about the public health crisis, you can take comfort in knowing humanity has made it through pandemics before and gone on to enjoy restored health and well-being. Mainstream history books — the ones still used in many Canadian classrooms — offer no such comfort for Black and Indigenous communities. Instead, these accounts continue a tradition of silencing and ignoring these voices; they misrepresent the lived experiences of Black and Indigenous peoples; perpetuate stereotypes; reinforce systems of discrimination; and resurface trauma and hopelessness.

Like the social and political movements that are only now starting to be “officially” recognized as part of our country’s history, those happening today will "end," too. By that, I mean the mainstream will lose interest, the media cycle will refresh, the hashtags will stop trending. As Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri put it: “A death like this happens, and we rage about it, and the headlines recede, and the world moves on, and then a few weeks later something else happens and we're outraged again and then we move on, again.”

Will you settle back into the unacceptable status quo? Or is this the breaking point that will finally disrupt our past and present realities of structural inequality and systemic discrimination?

We’re all making history right now. Let’s make sure future generations of history students will proudly look back at this moment as the moment that catalyzed long-term change.

How will you remember 2020?

When our YMCA Camp, Child Care, and Health & Fitness teams first started talking about this time capsule, we wanted it to be a lighthearted activity people could do with their kids to help them stay positive while they stay safe at home. So much has changed since then.

Instead, we hope you’ll assume the role of a good historian — the historians we should have had for centuries. We hope you’ll document 2020 in whatever way is meaningful to you, personally. We also hope you’ll include the good and the bad, and the murky waters in between — we hope you’ll tell us your whole story. To that end, you’ll find a combination of activities below that we hope will help lift your spirits, but also dig deeper to learn, reflect, and commit to building a fairer future.

Here’s how it works:

• We know the last thing you need right now is another item on your To Do list. So consider this list a menu: pick and choose the activities you want to do. Most include variations: the efficient way you can still join in on the fun, and the 2.0 version for those of you looking to go the extra mile.
• At the Y, we think of you as part of our family. We’re going to create our own (virtual) time capsule too, and we want to see you in it. Make sure you snap some photos as you learn, reflect, and grow, and share them with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and tag @YMCAGTA. Our time capsule is going to live online, open to the public, so send us the best pics that you’re comfortable showing to the world!
• “Real” photos —  the kind you can hold in your hands and keep in a scrapbook, not the constellation of pixels that live on the Internet —  are, of course, a classic way to capture memories. If you’re lucky enough to have a polaroid or another solution to print yours, add those hard copies to your capsule. If you don’t, see point two above ;) Just share your photos from your phone on social and we’ll keep them in our digital capsule.

Memory-making activities to help you build your custom time capsule

1. Create your box
There are tons of cool time capsules you can order online: fancy wood ones, stainless steel cylinders… But really, all you need is an old shoebox. This will be the holder of your treasure trove of memories, so make it look good! An easy way to decorate your box is to cover it in your handprints. Paint your own and/or your kids’/partner’s/roommate’s/whoever’s hand a different colour, and lay them on the outside of the box. Voila: now you have a one-of-a-kind time capsule that’s uniquely yours.

2. Strike a pose
Capture yourself in a photograph as you are, in this moment. Drop it in your capsule and share it with us @YMCAGTA. Don’t have a polaroid or way to print your snaps? Even better. Break out the art supplies and draw, paint, or collage a self- or family-portrait.

3. Get outside and show a little community pride
Go on a walk or bike ride through your neighbourhood. Visit a place that’s special to you (hint: it’s the absolute most special place that you miss so much: your local YMCA! 😉). Write why that spot is so meaningful to you right now, and put the note in your capsule.

4. Learn and reflect
We are each experiencing this moment from different perspectives. And we can each take time to reflect, document how we’re feeling, and capture what this moment means to us. If you’re among the privileged majority, it’s time to acknowledge and take responsibility for the status quo that works in our favour every day. Real change is going to be incremental and long-term, but it can start right now. Watch a video, read a book, enjoy a documentary — whatever media you choose, make the effort to learn something new about Black and Indigenous communities. Then, take the time to engage with that content. How did it make you feel? What’s your interpretation? What parts of your life does it impact, reinforce, make you want to change? Capture your reflections in a way that’s meaningful to you — journal, collage, paint, whatever you feel like — and include them in your capsule.

5. Indulge in a tasty treat
Spend a little time in the kitchen baking your favourite sweet treat. (If you have some, get your kiddos involved!) If you’re feeling ambitious, double the recipe and drop care packages off at your friends’, family’s, or neighbours’ front door. Include a copy of your recipe in your capsule, along with the “thank you” notes we’re willing to bet you get from your care package recipients!

6. Get creative
We’re the #1 fans of arts and crafts, but we also want to do our part to build a sustainable future, which means using recycled materials or items from nature as much as possible. This craft from our YMCA Camps team is a fav with our 6 to 12 year olds, but it’s also great fun for the young at heart ;) On your next walk, find a few small rocks to transform into works of art. Once you’ve followed our instructions for rock painting and glammed yours up, pick one to add as a keepsake to your time capsule. Use the rest to liven up your garden, living room mantle, or bedroom.

7. Plant the seeds for a new beginning
You can order packets of seeds online for delivery at super affordable prices. Whether you grow herbs on your kitchen counter, flowers in your windowsill planter, or a whole veggie garden in your backyard, you’ll get to watch life itself grow and unfold. Place the seed package in your time capsule to remind your future self that big, beautiful things often come from humble beginnings and small actions.

8. Throw a party
Pack a picnic the next time you go for a nature hike, dress up for a fancy tea party in your garden, or host a popcorn-filled movie night in your living room “fort.” Whatever safe options you have available, the point is you’ll get to transform regular everyday activities into a celebration of taking time for yourself. Choose a keepsake — a leftover napkin from your picnic, the cleaned jelly jar from your tea party — to keep in your capsule.

9. Write a letter to your future self
What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you since lockdown started? What are the first three things you’ll do when it’s over? How does it feel to live through the social and political protests happening right now? What are you learning about yourself, your views on diversity, or your role in supporting greater equity? Write up your answers to these questions (or make up your own!) so you have a record for your future self to look back on. Make your letter extra-special by writing it on this fancy marble paper from our YMCA Camps team.

10. Take time for gratitude
Find a little something around your home that:

• Reminds you of someone you miss and can’t wait to see again (like a packet of grandma’s favourite tea)
• Is beautiful to you and you’re grateful to have (like a homemade birthday card)
• Makes you smile! (Like an old friendship bracelet, or one of your kids’ pieces of art.)

Of course, make sure they’re little trinkets or things you won’t miss while they’re in your time capsule.

11. Spread caring and kindness
Do a little something to show essential workers how grateful you are for them. Create a pretty display of gel-clings and post a “thank you” message in your front window, or get creative with sidewalk chalk. Add something to your capsule that captures your gesture of kindness: maybe you keep one of the gel clings or snap a photo of your sidewalk art.

12. “Bury” your time capsule
Actually, we recommend you just stash your finished box in a hard-to-reach corner of your closet — preferably where you won’t see it all the time, like behind your winter gear. Agree on a date far in the future when you’ll open the box together — say, a year or two from now. Put the date in your calendar, then put the box out of your mind!

Years from now, when you look back, how are you going to remember these months? Will you see it as time wasted while you were stuck at home, or quality time spent safe at home with your family? Will you let it pass in a blur of news updates, or start performing acts of intentional kindness and compassion? We each have the power to shape our individual and collective futures. Our YMCA hopes the memory-making, reflecting, learning, and growing you’ll do as you complete these activities will help galvanize you to make that future safer, fairer, and more inclusive for everyone.