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  2020-02-20

  Self isolation before it was labeled a pandemic

  I'm an American living abroad in China, so we went through the pandemic a bit before everyone else. After I'd spent twenty five days in Hong Kong (originally intended to be a nine day holiday for Chinese New Year) with my boyfriend, we flew back to Shanghai because things seemed to be getting better over here. Regardless, we still came back to a lot of uncertainty. We were assuming that his apartment complex would be enforcing a stricter lockdown than mine (at this point, basically each apartment complex and neighborhood were setting their own rules). What I didn't expect was for me to be the one "trapped" at home and feeling anxious about the situation unfolding. As I eventually calmed my nerves, I decided to start channeling the anxiety into creative channels such as cooking and also this bullet journal. In many ways, these two hobbies have been incredibly therapeutic as they provide a way for me to feel like I have some sort of control when in reality, who knows what will happen? With time, I've been able to see how lucky we were here in Shanghai to have escaped the worst of the pandemic, but that same anxiety and not knowing what will change, how long this will last, etc continues as the virus rages on around the world.