College Tip 9: Don’t Forget to Take Care of Yourself
Source: Aesthetics Journal
https://aestheticsjournal.com/news/new-survey-highlights-impacts-of-covid-19
*The following poem is called “We’re in This Together,” and it is featured in my poetry collection.
We’re in This Together
This is the weirdest way I could’ve ever imagined spending 2020.
Stores are closed
and out of toilet paper.
The few stores that are open
have “MILK: LIMIT 1”
signs taped on the freezer doors that are about to fall off.
It’s been advised on the news that you shouldn’t go out
unless it’s a necessity.
I was debating whether or not an iced coffee
would be considered a necessity.
If you know anything about me,
then you’d definitely consider coffee one of my essentials.
The stores also have special senior hours.
I keep thinking of millennials sitting on
thrones of toilet paper.
My heart feels like it’s been slashed open
thinking about how older people who are susceptible to the virus
aren’t getting access to the resources they need.
I hope they aren’t feeling hopeless,
even if the system is predisposed to make them feel that way.
I’ve been spending some alone time
with my mind and I.
But if I have too much free time by myself,
my mind will slowly wrap itself around the rest of my body,
causing death by overthinking.
Luckily, I can distract myself
by streaming movies for most of the day.
My mom tells me I’m spending too much time watching movies on my tablet.
I tell her at least I’m doing dishes
and cleaning my room while doing it.
I want to do something,
anything,
to help those who are suffering.
I wanted to go to a soup kitchen to volunteer,
but even that’s impossible now.
They told us to leave campus,
and all my classes were online for the rest of the semester.
Graduation was canceled,
and so was my family’s Easter celebration.
Somewhere, a man with an Easter bunny costume hanging up in his closet is crying in his room
because he lost his job at the mall.
There are so many other costumes hanging up all around the world listening to their owners sobbing.
I need to leave this house,
but where would I go?
Everywhere I would want to go is closed,
and I don’t have a car.
I’m getting annoyed being cramped with four other human beings.
I would tell my family I wish I was in Champaign,
but I know that would start an argument that absolutely nobody needed.
Plus, I’m lucky to have people by my side
at this time.
Some people would do anything to have a mom
that tells them they spend too much time watching movies on a tablet right about now.
Luckily, it’s been a few weeks,
and places are opening back up.
Although I thought my mind would be more at ease by now,
the fight for racial justice makes that impossible,
and I’m glued to my phone.
But I can acknowledge that my mind shouldn’t be at ease
when it comes to this.
After all, I have the privilege of looking away,
and countless others don’t.
But I also have the privilege of amplifying Black voices,
and I’m flooding my pages with resources every day.
To those attending protests,
I stand with you for life.
I promise.
Please let me know immediately if I fail to keep it.
This is a message
from me
to me.
And to you, too.
Even though things aren’t going to be so great for a little while,
a change is coming,
and I am going to be OK.
We are going to be OK.
*Note: If I’ve learned anything during the quarantine, it’s to practice self-care whenever you can. The quarantine has been anything but normal, and you shouldn’t feel any guilt or shame for taking care of yourself during this time. If that means taking more naps than usual, then do it. As things are opening up again, if a friend asks you to go out and you don’t want to, there’s nothing wrong with saying “No.” This is unlike anything we’ve ever faced, so please be patient and kind with yourselves, and please wear a mask if you choose to go out.
In this article series, I share excerpts and stories from my book, Are These the Greatest Years?. I hope you enjoyed this post — if you enjoyed it and want to connect you can reach me here via email dominicrose50@gmail.com or connect with me on social:
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