By Nina Joss
March 25
I wonder how we’ll look back at this age, this time when the world shut down.
Living history—a special adrenaline
I’ll never get tired of.
It’s nostalgic once it’s happened to you before—maybe, in some ways,
the last time felt bigger.
But oh, it’s different every time.
April 5
It’s like parallel experiences, 6 months apart.
October 18th → March 18th
We cover our mouths and noses with scarves and bandannas still to leave the house,
just for a different reason now.
We stay inside and leave when necessary.
I take my camera everywhere.
We go for walks to learn.
We play games and try to remind ourselves of normality.
We cannot turn the news off.
We know how to read each others’ minds because we are all thinking the same thing.
We wait to hear what the President says, how it will affect how we live.
We feel united,
just for a different reason now.
We are scared,
just for a different reason now.
I can’t tell which one is scarier.
Or which is more inspiring.
-the protests vs. the pandemic