Editor’s Letter
Happy New Year to all! In my opinion, 2021 was a better year than
the one before (we shall call it “The Year That Must Not Be Named”).
It was still confusing, still fraught with some peril, but still better. I hope you found it to be the
same.
Now we are entering a new time of questions. Good ol’ COVID really stirred the pot in many
ways and it opened up doors that we didn’t even know existed. The last two years brought many
lessons in human behavior, to be sure … and I’m not saying all of it was bad. After all, we learned
how to live without paper products, right? In all seriousness, the shortages of supplies that we
continue to encounter may have actually changed us for the better. It’s time to go back to basics,
to the simple pleasures in life. Not everything that brings joy comes from a store; sometimes it’s all
about appreciating what you have and the people around you. To be healthy, to be loved … those
are two elements of life you just can’t deny are vital.
Did you know we’re entering a new era? That’s right – some say we are currently transitioning
from the Cenozoic Era (the age of mammals) to the Metazoic Era (the age of adaptation to a virtual
world). Mark Zuckerberg announced recently that Facebook’s new name will be Meta, complete
with a new logo. A whole new “Metaverse” is opening up, and we will be witness to its birth. What
does that mean? We will soon fi nd out, I am sure.
With more and more people becoming ensnared and addicted to a world inside their computer,
daily life is becoming less about reality and more about a world where everyone is living their best
life. At least, that’s what they want to portray to the outside world.
No, it’s not really a thing. But when you think about it, it really is. In a metaverse, everything is
possible, everything is epic, nothing is mundane. A video of a squirrel climbing a greased pole
goes viral, for months a shanty about a hungry cat named Whiskers Jelly sung by three very
suspect-looking characters from a hit television show was all you heard when you logged on.
Social media has little to do with reality, but it can also be a very benefi cial tool. In one of our
stories in this edition we talk about some basic tools you can use to communicate more easily
with your friends and family on Facebook. How wonderful it can be to fi nd classmates you haven’t
talked to for decades, or to check in on your family’s daily life when you’re miles away from them.
If you stay away from the crazy stuff you can get a laugh when you’re feeling down, fi nd a great
recipe and share the joys and foibles of your own life through pictures and stories. Social media
can be a curse, but it can also bring joy to those who feel isolated and lonely.
Let 2022 be your year to adapt and overcome. Be fi ercely loving, fi ercely loyal and fi ercely true
to yourself. Take the paths less traveled,
prepare for the worst, hope for the best
and never stop loving life.
Take care of yourself, take care of those
around you … and remember that your
health and your capacity to love are more
important than anything else.
14 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE • January/February • 2022
Marcy Shortuse
Editor-in-Chief, Gasparilla Magazine