Times are absolutely crazy. Since I last captioned a photo in this space a lot has happened. I spent 3 years living with my best friend and her growing family. I started to crave a new city and a new way to engage in the work of education. I lost some friends. I made some new ones. I ran a couple of marathons for "fun." I decided to go to grad school full time. I said goodbye to DC and moved to New York. I experimented with being vegan but settled on being a flexitarian (as Beth lovingly mocked, it means you can eat whatever you want). And now we are in the middle of a global health crisis and ordered to quarantine for at least the next month.
Amidst the chaos, there has been a plea from historians for more personal writing during this unprecedented time; a request for first hand accounts of living through COVID-19. Perhaps I am only hearing this because I live in my little literacy specialist corner and authentic writing is an ever present conversation here. But collecting something more than just TikTok videos and
Instagram captions seems important.
After a week or so of pondering if writing daily will do me any good, I have decided to just go for it. It pulls me away from my school work, my anxieties, and -- lets be honest -- tv.
Next came the how: in a journal, notebook, google docs? Then today I remembered that this space existed. I honestly thought I had deleted it in an effort to try to erase my past self from the internet. I thought scrolling through who I was before would cause me to cringe in shame. Instead, I smiled and giggled through the layers of memories that exist here. I read the about me I had crafted where I claimed this was basically a group text to friends without the pressure to respond. It feels relevant four years later and for the task at hand. I like the private publicness of this space. Those who I want to find it will, otherwise it will just be another quarantine brain dump in the abyss of the internet.
To start off this new writing venture, here's a little photo dump of my first 17 days of self isolation in the epicenter of the pandemic.
^Friday, March 13: Empty subway platform at rush hour.
Tuesday, March 17: Caught BJ Novak commenting on Current Mood.
Friday, March 20: Me and my beverages getting ready for a day of Zoom.
Monday, March 23: Made some bread.
Tuesday, March 24: Coffee like Antoni and Deb taught me.
Wednesday, March 25: Vegan Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies and viral whipped coffee drink.
Thursday, March 26: Hour long, block spanning, Trader Joe's line
And bring your own disinfectant wipes.
Friday, March 27: More Zoom
Saturday, March 28: Made banana bread from the Flour cookbook.
Monday, March 30: Coffee, water, banana bread and melty peanut butter.
Accidental stair shot.
Camo and leopard print greet each other.
And my dad sent me a coffee package.
Tuesday, March 31: Bought this sweater and pictured wearing it on summertime (New England) beach night. Settled for indoor wear.
