Today's post comes from Clara Auyon who has been in the ALS program for a couple of years now. With the guidance of literacy staff, she decided to participate in the California COVID Diaries project from the California State Library and California Library Literacy Services, and these are her reflections on the impact that COVID-19 has had on her life.
How has your
life changed?
My life changed because I had to reorganize my
day to day trying to fulfill my personal and professional activities without
leaving home. Being in contact with my family, friends, neighbors, virtually,
no longer hugging, kissing, meeting or sharing important dates with them in
person. We had to implement all the hygiene protocols inside and outside the
house, with food and not food as indicated by health authorities. Being at home
all day we had to create new activities to fill our free time.
How have you
changed?
It made me even more sensitive to the reality
experienced by the most vulnerable people, valuing and enjoying what I have, my
husband, my kids, my friends, my work, recognizing and investing every minute
in what is really worthy, thanking God for being alive, for giving me faith and
hope in these difficult times, for having a roof, food. Continuing working to
be a better person, more committed to help others.
Important
highlights: any silver linings?
We spend more time with my children, family thru
WhatsApp, Zoom, etc. I am very happy to share more time with my husband. Before
I only saw him Monday to Friday from 10 pm to 8 am. We have time to sharing
activities that we like, cooking, watching movies, talking about politics,
technology, etc.
Time to reflect on what we must change to
improve ourselves, what is really worthy. It happens to us that with the
fast-paced life that we lead by work, our children, the housework, we don’t
have time to appreciate things and sometimes waste time on things that are not
worth it, due to the pandemic and having to stay at home and stop doing many
things, we had free time and realize everything that was happening due the
pandemic, many infected people, deceased, without work, without home, some
without having anything to eat, you appreciate more what you have, thank God
for what you have and value it more and seeing all this awakens in you the
desire to helps, empathy and solidarity towards those people who lack all these
things and are the most vulnerable.
By staying home and having a lot of free time I
decide to reorganize my activities and keep myself busy to minimize the stress
generated by the pandemic. Starting with my hobbies, like taking care of my
plants, making flowers arrangements, cooking new recipes and some of my goals
that I had not achieve because I did not have the time, learning English,
Mandarin, refreshing my Cantonese language and updating the directories of my
classmates of Junior High, High School, University to stay in touch through
WhatsApp and Zoom to support us, help others and encourage us to deal with this
pandemic.
With the pandemic, I
confirm again that in times of crisis, people and private associations always
emerge to help most in need, hundreds of moving stories, which fill you with
hope and faith. People who regardless of social and political differences, come
together to help and defend injustices.
Difficulties: what was been challenging?
Adapt your personal and professional life to the
new normal, with the pandemic everything change, your life will not be the same
even if the pandemic is controlled, after all we have lived, we have all
changed in some way. We will have changed in many aspects from our way daily
activities, the way of working, living with our family, friends, etc. even our
way of seeing and valuing things.
One of the aspects that characterize us human
beings is affective relationships, being in contact with other people and not
having them we feel that something is missing. For me it is frustrating because
I love to be in contact with my children, my family, my friends, getting
together to them, hugging them, but with the pandemic this is no longer
possible, to compensate this limitation now I do it by phone, WhatsApp, video,
Zoom, see us without living the car.
Control stress and anxiety and help other to do
so. Due the pandemic, many people were left without a job, with the uncertainty
of how will survive by not having an income, the fear of getting infected,
domestic violence when they are locked up at home, not being able to hug their
children, parents, grandparents, friends, etc., being responsible for
supporting their children in their studies, the despair of seeing that the epidemic
has not been controlled because every day there are more infections and more
deaths, also the increase in violence, robberies, not knowing when this will
ended, has increased the level of stress and anxiety and in some cases have
ended in suicide.
What do you hope for 2021?
COVID-19
& Public Health
Have a vaccine for Covid19 and the country or countries that have created it, shared it with the world and it is provided
free for the population.
The leaders of the world and their health
departments do no wait for another pandemic to prioritize improving their
health system and be better prepared for the future for any contingency that
arises. What they experienced with Covid19 and what we have left to live, serves
as experience to not make the same mistakes that cost many lives.
Doctors, nurses, health personnel have the tools
to do their job.
Create and promote free programs to educate the
population about the importance of having a healthy diet to avoid serious
diseases such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, etc., incorporate this topic
at all levels of education.
Invest more financial resources in disease
research and in supporting health experts for their research.
The World Health
Organization manages to integrate all the countries of the world so that in
times of crisis they mutually support each other for the benefit of all and the
countries don’t put politics before health.
Civic
& Political
Citizens with the experiences lived with Covid19
reflect on what is really important in life, creating awareness that we live in
a community where we have to support each other, the importance of family,
friends and solidarity towards the most vulnerable people.
Implement strategies to gradually improve the
economy so that lost Jobs are recovered, in addition to creating more jobs.
With the uncertainty of when the Covid19 would
be controlled, create educational programs so that students are prepared to
take classes online and can count on the technological resources required or
create another structure so that children who don’t have a computer can take
their classes, such as exclusive television channels for classes.
Government works to reduce the % of people
living in poverty, especially Latinos and African Americans.
Create improvements in laws to prevent violence
from police and reduce racial discrimination.
Citizens are aware that by voting in elections
for our representatives, we are choosing the people who will fight for our
well-being and our families, so it is important that we analyze thoroughly who
we vote for.
