June 3, 2020: The Stunned Summer
My creative brain has felt stagnant for a while now. When I realized I wouldn’t be graduating with all of my best friends or have a job this month, I felt a bit stunned. Stunned as in numb and naive to the idea that COVID could really hit my country like that. But it did. And it still is.
My mom still goes into work. She stands in the 85 degree North Carolina sun while testing concerned patients for coronavirus. She wears a full hazmat suit. She recycled a mask because they ran out of PPE. I keep thinking that we are living in a movie.
I’ve stayed up too late the past few nights watching the news in both agitation with the sensationalism and sadness for my Black friends and neighbors who are suffering. At this point, they not only need bail funds, they need therapy funds. I speak out however I can, attempting to listen more than I talk. I know that I have a mostly white following so I’ve been spending my spare time reading about Black owned businesses and finding Black-made graphics to share with them. The first step is educating my white peers.
I’m disappointed. When did human rights become a political matter? I’m not going to comment on the protests because I have not been there myself and all I have seen is what the media wants to show me. I know the protests are peaceful. I also know that it is not my place to comment on how other people protest their oppression. Please just keep that in mind.
The other day I watched Space X and Nasa collaborate on the first private rocket launch. I was stunned there as well. We needed good news, and this was a beautiful moment. I watched with my brother and best friend as their speed increased: 10,000 mph, 10,570 mph, and on. These are the moments I wait for and cherish. The thought of time passing by scares the shit out of me. I graduated college on my living room couch with my roommate. For my sister’s 13th birthday we had a car parade. I won’t go to a store without a mask. I’ve never been so conscious of everything I touch with my hands or how many times I touch my face.
I don’t see why it is so hard for people to want people to live. In my state there were right-wing conservatives protesting in the capitol to reopen North Carolina even though COVID cases were still increasing. Now, our mayor is saying that weapons should not be brought to a protest—that is not what a protest is about. Where was that energy a few weeks ago? I know it’s been said a lot already but it rings too true not to say, we are fighting two viruses right now.
As for me, I understand my privilege. That is why I got my degree in journalism. So that I can educate people through words and pictures. Unfortunately, the only photography I have done so far is minimal. I will link it below.
Work in Quarantine: