Instead of discussing what we should be doing, how about I talk about what is actually happening, what COVID has been and is currently doing to us. See how relatable this ‘COVID Realities’ series is:

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You’re free, at least that’s what you think.. but then a reminder suddenly pops up on your phone, boldly telling you that you have a zoom meeting in 30 minutes… You’re in the middle of getting food at a restaurant you lined up for or laying down doing nothing, or worse: in the middle of that tv series that teleports you to a different world! But then the reminder stings, you can’t get it out of your head, because you have to be present, especially if you missed the meeting prior. Say the episode ends in 40 minutes or you’re about to fall asleep, you start to have a tug of war in your head, should I attend or should I not?

The new reality is very hard. Sitting through zoom calls that you have to be at because decisions need to made, and grades need to be made; eating a little less because school is back on, hence, taking up most of what was quarantine eating time. Going to do basic things like take out the trash and then you remember, you forgot your mask and there’s other people in the apartment building, possibly going to take out the trash or just take a brief stroll around you and the possibilities continue to increase and you for sure don’t want to inhale or exhale anything lethal, so you take a step back and put on that mask like a superhero with their cape.

But that’s just one very brief activity. What about something that should be brief but always takes up more time than it should? Like say, grocery shopping. Oh no, that seems too easy and too broad. What about walking to the grocery store for a ‘quick’ grocery run, or just randomly hiking? You walk and you walk and then walk some more, say with 3 bags full of food and other stuff you usually get at grocery stores; but all of a sudden, you start to run out of breadth; you witness the sudden need to take off your mask, even just a little, but you look around and see you’re swarmed with people... So you walk, with a slower pace this time, to a slightly more deserted area and covertly take off your mask, as if you shoplifted or something, catch a few more breadths, set your mask right, then get on with your day.

At least that’s just one of the few times (hopefully) your mask is off. But then walking past people who practice ‘anti-masking’- just made this up - makes you wonder what safety really means for some people. You hold your breadth and try to keep a stable distance from them, then say a quick prayer as you walk past - I reject COVID, Amen.

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Stay tuned for Part 2