Items

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  2020-04-20

  A Conflicting Agenda

  This image portrays two women in downtown Sacramento in protest of the shelter-in-place lockdown that Governor Gavin Newsom implemented. One women is seen holding a sign that portrays Governor Gavin Newsom as part of the Nazi regime or compared with Adolf Hitler. Another woman is seen in the foreground carrying a child on her back with another sign declaring that “All Businesses Are Essential”. Both women are protesting against business closures, unemployment, and being unable to return to the workforce. While with some jobs work is almost guaranteed like those who work for the state, other private and small businesses are suffering. On the other hand, while having the freedom to assemble and speak openly comes with its benefits, the sign depicting Gavin Newsom as a Nazi is quite extreme. The level of ignorance present in this photograph equates its offensive demeanor and deeply undermines the experiences of Holocaust survivors and the other millions of lives lost. For me fellow Sacramentans, seeing signs and descriptions such as these make me feel less proud of the town I live in. I thought the pandemic would help us realize our insensitive words and unnecessary slurs but it’s only reminded many people of a troubled past. The pandemic has truly brought a side of the American people that I have never seen and as a young student seeing adults act with rational thought makes me wonder where our world will be in the next few decades. If the world changes, so do we. Some people have a hard time overcoming adversity and the pandemic has exposed triggers amongst the American people. One of them being economic downfall. The image clearly represents what some individuals believe to be most important and valued in life. It seems that we have reached a point through this pandemic that we no longer prioritize the lives of each other but rather how much money is in the bank. In many ways, this is a reflection of what America was built off of.
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  2020-04-30

  A quiet time

  A personal account
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  2020-04-28

  week of april 27

  Week of April 27, 2020 I am from Myrtle Beach, SC and as most people know South Carolina was one of the first states to open back up after President Trump gave his blessings to each governor to make their own decision regarding how quickly and what to open up and what to restrict. During this entire month, Covid 19 has revealed some uncomfortable truths about America. Every day brings a reminder that we are a country of extreme haves and have nots – and this applies to people have accurate information. We as a country have the most Nobel prizes in science and also the most willfully ignorant people when it comes to understanding science. How else can we explain electing a low information buffoon who pushes bullshit cures and disinformation that will actually kill people. Injecting disinfectant??? Really? Trump knows that there is no disinfectant at stores. But he like many Americans believes that science is just an opinion instead of trying to understand it. These people are far better at dismissing inconvenient science than trying to understand how it will affect their lives. Thinking is hard. Repeating memes is fun. And after all, isn’t not believing in Darwinism really Darwinism? When facts are inconvenient, these folks just scream that “I can’t hear you.” This goes to prove another fact, that America cares more about the corporate health of its companies that the actual health of its citizens. Corporations got most of the bailout cash. And corporations and the politicians corporations pay are behind the “grassroots” push to prematurely open America. Georgia has one of the lowest rates of testing in the country and it is the first to completely reopen. That’s what happens when you make medical decisions for political reasons. Like the mayor of Las Vegas offering to make her city a control group with testing. It would be like a doctor saying they were going to treat cancer with lower taxes. Republican governors believe that sacrifices have to be made for corporate profits. Frankly, I don’t want to be a statistic. And because of trump’s attitude toward this has been that he won’t take any blame, our response to the pandemic has been ad hoc, conflicting, and piecemeal. Some states have had responses founded on research surrounded by states with policies founded on Twitter hashtags. It is amazing to some that viruses don’t respect state lines or how deadly they are. The conflicting responses are like having a no smoking section in my car or a no peeing section in my bathtub. I have to give credit for most of this post to a post I follow on Facebook called Mrs. Betty Bowers. It reflects my feelings and frustrations but says it far better than I could.
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  2020-04-24

  Making the worst of it.

  Everyone on Earth has more time than they have had or will ever have again. Luckily for many people, they have been able to do so much. I have not been doing as much as I should be doing. But, that might be ok. I might as well do some relaxing while I have the change, but I also need to keep working so I don't lose too much time. There is much to do and much time to do nothing as well.
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  2020-04-20

  Quarantine Discoveries

  The first few weeks in quarantine, like for many, were pretty difficult for me. I would have good days and bad days. I would go through waves of sadness here and there and get depressed thinking of all the things I was unable to do or accomplish, and all the opportunities I had missed and would seemingly never get back. This was supposed to be the time of internships, widening my professional network, shadowing professionals, and preparing for my professional future. How was I supposed to prepare for my impending future trapped inside my home wearing pajamas all day? I felt like the whole world was put on pause, but my life was still passing me by. After two weeks of self-pity and baking an extensive amount of bread (stress baking anyone?), I realized I was in desperate need of a new perspective. How can I benefit from this situation? What can I do with this time to prepare for my future that I wouldn't have the opportunity to do otherwise? I had a quarantine awakening. I decided that this time at home would not go wasted. I put together goals for the year 2020 that I could achieve from the comfort of my home. I realized that there was, in fact, a lot I could do to prepare for my future that didn't involve other people. I began to research online workshops that I could complete and add to my resume, I began reading articles and books that related to my career that I never had the time to read, and I set aside time to practice the things I used to love, like photoshop and web design. I gave myself the opportunity to self reflect and really dissect the life choices that had brought me to this point in my life, and decide if the path I was on was still the one I wanted to pursue. My time in quarantine has helped me realize that the best way I could help my future self was not by networking or interning for a big company in the city, but was by focusing on me. I needed time away from the productive life the world told me I was supposed to be living to decide if all that productivity was really taking me where I wanted to go in the first place. Where do I want to go? Finding out what I like, what I don’t like, figuring out what my skills are and focusing on how to apply them, deciding what kind of future I wanted and setting goals to get there were all things I’d sidelined before the quarantine. I realized how lucky I was to have this time to be allowed to focus on me. Quarantine has gifted me with a new perspective on life and has shown me how capable I truly am.