COVID-19

2020-2021

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic felt like the moment in a MarioKart race when you’re in first place and you get hit with a blue shell and blow the lead. I had felt good about the progress I was making in my personal, professional, and academic life, and suddenly that was all put on pause. It felt like a fight to keep my spirits up when my healthy routine fell out from under me, I realized that I was really unequipped for virtual learning, and the survival of several loved ones suddenly seemed in jeopardy. I know I’m far from alone in this; though it has been hard to connect with others about it precisely because of the social distancing measures that are necessary. Coursework feels virtually impossible these days, which is extra frustrating when I’m in classes that I really care about. Pictured here is one of my first masked walks around the neighborhood, back when masked walks were the official government-sanctioned way to get exercise. I guess I thought the mask was novel enough that I took a picture...it’s hard to imagine being in that headspace now.