Items

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  2020-04-04

  Diary of Azazel by Jessica Diaz

  I will be submitting a fiction diary that consists of a collection of poetry. These poems are chosen with azazel in mind. He worships misfortune and only loves one woman. Who later passes away due to the coronavirus. The corona virus he once praised because it killed off his enemies. The poetry found in his diary are from famous poets all around and the writing expresses his feelings of hate and despair.
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  2020-05-09

  Self-portrait with mask, May 2020

  During the pandemic, I often walk in Brooklyn's historic Green-Wood Cemetery with its rolling hills, lovely views, and fantastic old monuments; it's also where my grandparents are buried. I've always loved the beautiful, timeless melancholy of the place, but during the pandemic, it was also a strange comfort to read the headstones and think of the people buried all around me. Life, sickness, crisis, death are all just part of being human. These dead humans also lived, suffered, died, and now it's just another version of the same thing. The self-portrait included here is based on a photo I took of myself in Green-Wood as I wandered there one day in April 2020, looking to get away from lockdown and to find company among the graves.
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  2020-03-17

  2020 Pandemic

  I was exposed to the Coronavirus almost immediately after the initial outbreak. I was already feeling sick in the middle of March. I felt a constant throbbing in my throat, sometimes I would wake up to a burning feeling in my lungs and felt pressure as though someone was standing on top of my chest. The first two weeks straight, I went from freezing cold to burning hot every few minutes, accompanied by a constant throbbing headache. The most menial of tasks would cause shortness of breath and my heart to pump excessively. I honestly felt I was going to die. After about a month, my breathing became less labored. In three months, I felt I recovered enough to start exercising again. By exercise, I mean the ability to walk a few blocks without having the wind knocked out of me. I began checking in with my family and found out that I had lost over 30 family members in Ecuador. I also lost a coworker, who was one of the kindest people you could meet and who was loved by her students. The amount of horrible and depressing individual stories of my family dying are too much to repeat, so I will say if there was ever a living nightmare, it was experienced by them. If I could describe what living through hell is like, I would say that it is the last six months of my life. Americans, as a whole, could have done better. To the people who have pretended that nothing is wrong, you deserve everything that is coming to you and I have absolutely no pity.
• 
  2019

  Far Away

  A couple months ago, the world knew nothing of COVID-19. We were going about our daily lives — going to school, sitting on the subway for way too long, hanging out with our friends, and seeing our loved ones regularly. Some went to work everyday to provide for their families while others took long walks in the park. Many of us looked forward to the summer, where we’d go to faraway places for vacation or visit the beach for a nice day in the sun. However, all of that was taken away from us. People were laid off, given fewer working hours, and paid less money. Small businesses went into a crisis, as they relied on their customers for their well-being. Everyone was ordered to stay inside for their safety as well as others. We can’t see each other anymore and have to communicate through phone screens and video calls. It’s a difficult time. Since my father is somewhat of a clean freak, he disinfects everything in our house every single day, from top to bottom. With the exception of my mother, who’s a Kindergarten teacher, everyone stays inside most of the time. I am sure we won’t contract the virus, but the same can’t be said about my family members in Bangladesh. Although I am proud of my country, it’s the truth that it’s a poor country with limited resources. Furthermore, there isn’t an equal distribution of the resources they do have, with most of it being consumed by the rich. This pandemic has proven to be a disaster for the poor in Bangladesh. A couple months ago, three of my uncles passed away from the virus. Each had a family and were the sole breadwinners of their families. They went to work almost every day to provide for their families. This has left all three families devastated, as they’re left with little to no way to support themselves on top. Events like this help me realize how lucky I am to be able to afford necessities such as disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, gloves, and masks. My family and I constantly worry about my relatives living in Bangladesh who can’t afford these things. We’re far away from each other, so we can neither deliver what they need to them or be with them when they’re sick. This is one of the hardest things I’ve experienced during this pandemic. Only my immediate family immigrated to the U.S., so everyone of my relatives are still in Bangladesh. It’s not safe to travel, so we won’t be able to fly over there in the case of an emergency. It’s a very bad situation, and we don’t really know what to do. I hope a vaccine will come out soon, not only in the U.S. but all around the globe.