Illustration by Lars Leetaru
Abraham Lincoln is among those credited with saying that the best way to predict the future is to create it. As the calendar turns to a new year, it’s the prefect time to stop and consider what that means, especially when we’re battered by headwinds of daily stress and current events that seem beyond our control.
We probably all spend too much time wondering what the future will bring, worrying about painful possibilities, hoping for someone to take charge. We lull ourselves into thinking the answers to our problems will emerge from world capitals or City Hall or church pulpits or a corporate boardroom. Too often we react instead of being the lead actors in our own lives.
Several Cincinnatians featured in this month’s issue strike me as having figured out ways to create their own futures. I’m impressed with the handful of neighbors in Westwood who tried to turn around their community’s fortunes by starting with one small project (see “Westwood Is on the Rise”). Almost 10 years later, high-profile redevelopment is remaking the business district and bringing new energy to the city’s largest neighborhood. It’s the kind of momentum we’ve seen (and Cincinnati Magazine has covered) in places like Walnut Hills, Price Hill, Covington, Loveland, and Madisonville, where people came together to reshape their destinies.
I’m blown away by the medical breakthroughs happening across Cincinnati, as evidenced in our Top Doctors package of stories. World-class physicians are inventing new approaches and technologies here to tackle cancer and other diseases, including a one-person experimental drug test at UC Health.
Throughout this issue you’ll come across people who, in their own small ways, are creating new realities instead of waiting for something to happen. Terence Hammonds has gained tons of attention, and a famous fan, for his social justice themed art. Mark Grote is guiding the Art Academy of Cincinnati on a new strategic path. And Robert Castañeda brought a pop-up restaurant concept here from Los Angeles. That’s a future I can get behind.
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