During my writing of the first draft of this, it was already mid-June. My state has been quarantined for about three months now. All of us, from the 5-year-old kids who want to go to school and can't fathom why they can't see their friends, the 20-somethings who moved home from college, and the countless of 30 to 40 to 50-year-olds who have lost their jobs in the middle of the pandemic, have been living in clouds of fear and anxiety.
Some of us are eager to reopen, ready to slap a Band-Aid on all of our worries and say that everything is fine. After all, if the government deems that it's okay to reopen, it's alright to trust them and go resume our lives, right? Some of us are still reeling from the effects of COVID-19, and see no end in sight without a completely changed world.
Although the future may seem grim with the lack of a vaccine for at least 12-18 months, and the fact that the vaccine may not be a cure-all, we have hope that one is coming with the 141 potential vaccines being tested all over the world. It will take a while but it's important to have faith and unity in ourselves, our scientists, and our communities in order to make sure that we get out of this okay.
It's important to take action by practicing self-control, to stay home despite early re-openings in states because of the rapid growth of new coronavirus cases, and the fact that states that were too hurried to open up now have to close again. We have to keep ourselves, our families, and our community safe. This isn't about the white ladies who angrily protest wearing masks, or the spoiled white college kids going to bars in only partially opened states, it's about the men and women who have gone to work and worn masks so often that there are bruises on their faces. It's about the hundreds of thousands of people who have died in this country alone. It's about the waiters, waitresses, laborers who are forced to go back to work in this perilous time because they have no choice. It's about the safety of everyone, something that the government doesn't seem too concerned over based on the lack of federal funding for states, that falls on everyone's head.
We must take action by staying home, wearing masks and gloves, and following CDC guidelines (and common sense) to keep each other safe.
The burden that lies on everyone's shoulders is enormous. We're all at risk in some way or another — our families are at risk and our normal lives are falling apart. All of these reasons are why it's ok if you're feeling angry or sad. It's okay if you haven't done a piece of work since your school or work shut down. It's okay if you aren't participating in the capitalistic machine that our society runs on anymore.
That machine itself has halted in its tracks, and it's time to acknowledge that this system is unhealthy for mental health.
It's okay to be lazy and indulge yourself in other areas of your life right now, especially in stressful times that are threatening your life. Today, we are surviving. Tomorrow and until this pandemic is over, all of us are going to be trying our best to survive. Until the day where we can all go out and breathe peacefully again, it's okay if you just sit around and watch Netflix all day.
