When Your Friends Are Saving Lives During a Pandemic
And you feel utterly useless
I’ll be honest. Social distancing hasn’t been hard on me at all. I am lucky enough to work from home; heck, my home computer is even faster than my work computer. And I’ve managed to experience actual growth on the freelance side of my career.
But I can’t help but feel guilty. While I write under a blanket with a warm mug of coffee, other folks are on the front lines of the pandemic, risking their lives.
It has made me wonder whether I made the right career choice.
Let’s back up a bit.
I went to an academically-focused high school, and my group of friends consisted of very high-achieving students in S.T.E.M. fields.
Many of them have since grown up to be esteemed professionals. They pursued degrees in medicine, law, and engineering. They have letters after their names, and sometimes when we get together for holidays, I have no idea what they’re talking about.
So, I’ve sometimes felt like a black sheep, albeit a noble one. After all, I didn’t give in to the pressures of the S.T.E.M.-focused society I grew up in; I followed my heart. I became a writer to fulfill a lifelong dream and to hopefully, someday, be what my favorite authors were to me in my most difficult days: a friend in the form of the written word.
And then the pandemic shined a light on what jobs truly matter.
I was pretty happy with my career choice until recently when COVID-19 struck the world, and people started working from home.
Writing at home under a blanket with a warm cup of coffee, I suddenly felt useless. Who needs a digital content creator when people are dying?
I began to wonder if I made the right career choice. Sure, I don’t have the brains and grades to be a medical doctor, but I did do reasonably well in school. I could have become a nurse. And it’s not like I couldn’t afford the schooling; I’m lucky enough to live in a country with fairly affordable university tuition that my family can foot.
One night, during an existential crisis, I opened up to one of my friends from high school who was finishing up her medical degree at Columbia. She was in New York, in the heart of the pandemic. I expressed how useless I felt and how maybe I should have become a healthcare worker too.
But she said the world needs writers to be responsible sources of information. She also said many doctors need help with writing. I can see the truth in that: my own experience copywriting for a variety of fields has shown me that when you have in-depth knowledge of a topic, explaining it in simpler terms to laypeople can be difficult. Writers can fill this gap.
I also lamented my career crisis at the dinner table, where my father, in his true dad fashion, exclaimed: “What a silly thing to worry about!” You’re not even interested in medicine. He continued, “You’ll likely make mistakes and do more harm than good.” He had a point; I am a notoriously anxious person. I would make a terrible doctor.
The pandemic has revealed unexpected heroes.
If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world that you don’t need a fancy degree or have highly specialized skills to contribute to society.
Instead, the world is beginning to appreciate the importance of grocery store workers, janitors, truckers, Amazon pickers, and other careers the white-collar elite has typically looked down upon as low-skilled.
To these people, we must say an enormous collective thank you.
But we must also remember: anyone has the potential to be heroic.
All humans — from the Ph.D. to the high school drop-out — can help each other. While the pandemic has revealed the worst of humanity (incompetent politicians, inconsiderate neighbors who refuse to social distance, etc.), it has also revealed the best. All around the world, humans from all walks of life are stepping up to support their fellow humans.
We all have a part to play in improving health.
How do writers fit into all of this?
My doctor friend also informed me that much of our health is determined outside of the healthcare system. Indeed, social determinants of health play an enormous role in who gets sick in the first place and from what. Poverty, food security, trauma, access to recreational space…these can all indirectly (but powerfully) determine health.
Problems like these don’t belong exclusively to the people suffering them and the organizations that help them; these problems belong to all of us. We all have a responsibility to speak up in the face of injustice, and we all have the power to help. I brainstormed a few things ordinary people can do right now:
- Give to organizations that are providing front-line support to the vulnerable in your community
- Donate blood if you are healthy and qualified
- Run errands for vulnerable people
- Order takeout from local businesses (stay safe while doing so)
- Advocate for better wages for essential workers
- Use your voting power to vote for someone who stands for the values as mentioned earlier
- Spread joy! Call a friend, cook your housemates a meal, or make a #goodvibes Tik Tok.
Many writers are, in actuality, mini-activists. We write because we feel compelled to express ideas that we believe will make a difference.
I still mostly identify as a fiction writer, but I am also interested in issues of identity, mental health, and the environment. On Medium, I have debunked O.C.D. myths, advocated for accessible green space, and used storytelling to confront my own internalized racism.
And while I’m still early in my Medium journey, I know I have made an impact on at least a few people. Those readers, while few, are why I continue to write. Because even if writing doesn’t directly help people survive, it can help people thrive.
