Hello Internet!
I hope everyone had a good week and stayed healthy. It seems like in recent days there has been a mix of good and bad news about the pandemic depending on where you live in the world and I just want everyone to know that we are in this together. The personal sacrifices we are making now could possibly save lives and “flatten the curve” which is a phrase that’s been said a lot recently. I’m going to talk a little about that and other stuff that is related to the pandemic in a second, but before I go too far, I want to highlight some stuff from the past week. First I want to say Thank You to all the amazing people who helped me push past the milestone of 500 Followers on WordPress! I really appreciate all the love and support all my readers and Followers send my way, so thank you for being part of this positive, creative space on the internet. Additionally I released a few published pieces here on the internet so let me quickly talk about them.
Last Sunday, I published a Weekly Blog talking about my Memories of Animal Crossing (Part 2), specifically talking about Animal Crossing New Leaf for the 3DS. This month I’ve been counting down the days until Animal Crossing New Horizons came out while reminiscing on past Animal Crossing Games and the great memories I had associated with them. Speaking of which, I got Animal Crossing New Horizons this past Friday and I am loving it so far. If you also love Animal Crossing or just want to talk about some video game nostalgia, I recommend checking out that Weekly Blog. This past Wednesday, I published a Poem titled “A Quieter World.” It’s a serious poem talking a little about how the way has changed from this ongoing pandemic and how it’s affecting all of us. Everyone’s experience with it is a little different but I feel like the sense of strangeness during all of this is universal. Finally, on Friday, I published the next part of my Dungeons and Dragons series Stolen Prince Part 2 [D&D]. If you read last week’s entry to the series you’ll know that Riffen got captured. Well this shows you what everyone else is doing in that time. There may or may not be some sort of assassins that the group battles. I guess you got to read it. Plus I had such a good time writing it that I decided to put out a Part 3 this upcoming Friday. Usually I try to limit myself to the amount of the series I publish each month, but this part just didn’t wrap things up so I needed to write a Part 3. Don’t worry, the following Friday will have a regular Writing Prompt Piece and won’t be Dungeons and Dragons related. But really, you should check out the series. It’s one of my longest here on the website and I really enjoy writing it.
Now I’ve been putting off talking about what is going on in the world, because I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to talk about it. I am NOT a health professional or doctor or someone who has studied infectious diseases or pandemics. All of my health information comes from The Center for Disease Control and The World Health Organization which I advise everyone reference when talking about the disease and what you should or should not do. Since I was not an expert, I wasn’t sure if I should just ignore the pandemic here on my blog or talk about it. I thought about it for a bit and came down on the side that I would not talk about the disease itself, but I would talk about some of the affects that it’s having on the world. That’s where the whole idea of “Social Distancing” comes in. It’s a phrase I’ve heard a lot and it’s what I want to talk about today. If you didn’t know or haven’t heard the phrase Social Distancing is “deliberately increasing the physical space between people to avoid spreading illness.” (Hopkins Medicine) To put it simply, you do not get close to people in order to avoid getting sick or getting others sick. It’s the reason that sporting events and concerts were cancelled. Too many people packed into one place is a hot bed for the disease and lets is spread quickly. If people are by themselves, they can’t get the disease or give it to others. Social Distancing is not just being by yourself in private; however, it also applies to being in a public space. Whether you are out buying groceries or are with a small group of people, you are supposed to be at least six feet (1.82 Meters) away from people. That’s how far most medical professionals think the disease can spread through the air. Along with Social Distancing, self-containment is also something that governments have suggested their citizens do. If you stay inside, away from others you won’t come in contact with them and the possibility of passing the disease is decreased. It’s all about treating those who are sick and preventing further spread of the disease. This is very important when talking about the elderly or people with weakened immune systems because they are most likely to die from this pandemic.
So you know what Social Distancing is and why it’s being done, but I really feel like that’s only a part of the story. For me the idea of Social Distancing is kind of sad. Like the fact that there is a global pandemic going on is already bad enough and then you pile on the fact that you are supposed to keep your physical distance away from others, even friends and family, and that can be real taxing for people’s mental health. If you don’t know me that well, you might not know that I consider myself an extrovert. I like hanging out with people and doing things and spending my time with others. When I’m told I can’t do that and I must either give people a lot of space or just stay home and not interact with others, it really drains me emotionally and mentally. Obviously, this is a small complaint compared to actually contracting the disease and I’ll happily do it if it means I don’t spread it to others, it’s just depressing. It seems like more and more businesses are being shut down and the government is doing all that it can to keep people inside and that adds a lot of stress and anxiety to extroverts like me. We want to go out and depending on how long this whole thing lasts, it could lead to feelings of claustrophobia or restlessness. Again, Social Distancing doesn’t mean you can’t go outside. But more and more it’s becoming a reality that many Americans like myself might be put under “shelter in place orders” where we can’t go outside unless it is an emergency or their job is deemed important and necessary.
Speaking of which, big shout outs to people who are working retail at grocery stores, truck drivers, delivery drivers, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals working hard during this outbreak. I really appreciate all the work you are doing during this crazy time and I hope you get a huge pay raise!
I guess all of this is just a way of saying that I understand that I need to keep my space and it’s better for everyone if people self-quarantine and practice social distancing, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy on everybody. Some people need to get out of the house every now and then and being stuck inside can be damaging mentally and emotionally. If you are someone like me and are feeling these things during the pandemic, I want you to know that you are not alone. It’s okay to feel sad or mad that you are stuck inside. It’s ok to feel like you are missing out on stuff and it’s ok to feel like it sucks this is going on. It does suck! But you also have to realize that personal sacrifice will probably save lives. Eventually this will go away. We’ll beat this thing together. Then you can hug your loved ones and go out with your friends to a bar or concert or restaurant or whatever. During this time, call or text some friends and talk to them. Find ways to engage with people digitally even if you can’t be with them physically. Keep practicing social distancing but try your best not to let it distance you mentally or emotionally. I’m with you in spirit!
Thank you so much for reading that Weekly Blog! Hopefully you learned a little bit about Social Distancing or at least learned that you are not alone if you are starting to feel a bit isolated from all the social distancing or self-quarantining you’ve had to do. If you liked this Weekly Blog, feel free to give it a like. Or you can leave a comment down below. Let me know what sort of fun activities you are doing to keep yourself busy during this pandemic. I’ve been playing a lot of Animal Crossing New Horizons but you probably aren’t surprised by that. You can also check out all the other pieces I’ve published here on WordPress. I have over 450 published pieces which includes Weekly Blogs, Poetry, Writing Prompt Pieces, and Fanfiction. Hopefully some of that interests you and you want to spend your time inside reading some of the stuff I’ve written.
Thank you for your support and I hope you have a fantastic week!
-Allen_The_Writer
Header Photo Credit to Houston Methodist
https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blog/articles/2020/mar/social-distancing-why-you-should-take-it-seriously-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/
Allen The Writer 