the pandemic: current thoughts
Similar to my last post, this is a brain dump article.
Stay inside, wash your hands, and take care of yourself. Watching the world fall apart before my eyes is a gut-wrenching thing to witness.
I’m trying to remain calm. I’m trying to avoid the media/news channels. It’s difficult. Things appear to only be worsening.
I’ll admit, I downloaded social media again while my friend, Rachel, visited me in Florida for several days. Rachel and I had a blast going to the beach and pretending to be on a spring break this past week. The second she left, however, reality hit me with double the force from before. This isn’t spring break. This isn’t temporary. This is long-term and it’s scary.
I’m ready to wake up from this coronavirus nightmare.
-me
Everything still feels surreal. Emotions are high, and my anxiety is running wild. I feel guilty without much justification, especially since my specific age and study abroad population which fled Italy to return home is being widely blamed for the spread. Our demographic is being called out for having mild symptoms and likely spreading the virus through travel and contact. While I understand the finger-pointing, I hate experiencing it first-hand.
“How are you feeling?”
translation: “You’re not suddenly sick, right? I wouldn’t want to get sick from you.”
a simple question no longer seems genuine—it seems like a selfish and multi-purpose question now.
Aside from my own personal conflicts related to me feeling like my own friends and family are afraid to interact with me, I can’t help but worry deeply about others.
For anyone who was unaware, this past summer I started a waste-free vegan journey. I documented my new life on an Instagram account @JojoLovesEarth, but then eventually lost my commitment to veganism and struggled to maintain my account as a result of feeling like a hypocrite.
Today, after feeling overwhelmed by emotions due to the news covering the virus, I decided to bring it back with the following caption:
I’m back. And I’m refusing to let a virus change my diet. i’m pledging to be vegetarian again and maintain my healthy eating. times may be stressful for the world right now, but resorting to junk foods and animal products is NOT the answer. In fact, many viruses are related to animals/animal consumption.
stay inside, follow the rules, but remember the environment. remember those who are helpless. those who cannot afford/access the things you can. believe me, you don’t need that much paper. reusables still matter. Let’s try to be mindful of more aspects of the world affected by this virus. Air #pollution may be decreasing, but the amount of plastic-wrapped food items and plastic shopping bags used these past few weeks is frightening. Buying in bulk is always better than buying individual things. But if you can afford to buy a little more, maybe consider donating to a local shelter so others can be as prepared for a quarantine as you are. community means more than just people. to me, #community means planet. and we need to protect our planet as much as we can right now.
I’m determined to prove that even during a pandemic, you CAN still be vegetarian and protect the environment.
It feels like time has reversed itself—especially for those who are my age. I feel sorry for the seniors in college who had to end their last semester early. I feel sorry for the rest of the students studying abroad who waited a lifetime to spend a semester immersing themselves in a new environment. I feel sorry for the homeless, the troubled, the abused, the lonely, and the low socioeconomic households dealing with the pressures resulting from this virus.
If you can afford to help those less fortunate than you, please do so. And if you can still afford to help the environment and live as waste-free as possible, PLEASE do so.
As my mom has been reminding me, it is times like these when prayer is needed most. Exhibit A (she sent this to me):
