COVID-19
What did we talk about before the outbreak of the corona virus? I can’t remember. I am currently on almost a month of not leaving the house, only to go to the grocery store. Thankfully I am not sick- but choosing to self isolate with my two roommates to flatten the curve.
In regards to my travel plans for the near future- all have been put to a complete halt. The next trip I had booked was to England and Italy at the end of April. I was planning to visit Italy for the first time in five years post study abroad with one of my best friends who I met there. We had plans to visit all of our old favorite spots and eat endless amount of pasta. Selfishly at first, all I could think about how I won’t be able celebrate my 25th birthday on a European vacation. I still keep continuing to look at flights to replace my canceled trip with a new one for later in the year. I feel empty inside when I don’t have a trip lined up as dramatic as that sounds. It gives me something to look forward to and reminds me that dealing with the bullshit of everyday life is worth it once I land in an unexplored city. When in reality, this could be going on for months so I really shouldn’t be getting my hopes up. To me- my entire life revolves around traveling. I even enjoy the all the boring parts, such as packing, getting to and from the airport and even sitting through a long flight. When I have down time, I start to do research on places that I want to travel to next and build itineraries for fun. I started this blog as a way to talk about all of my travels and adventures but also for a way to escape my normal routine. Due to this quarantine, it’s been hard even writing this blog post. I can’t get myself excited to work on this blog when I have no idea when I will be able to travel again. I’m disappointed I will have to wait a little bit longer to experience Florence again however, England and Italy will still be there when I decide to go back and visit. To soften the blow a little bit, at least I was able to cancel my hotels (always get the hotel with no prepayment and free cancelation) and my airlines canceled the flights so I wasn’t forced to and lose out on that money.
I want to pivot this blog post to the real issue here- as much as I want to sit and sulk about not being able to live my life as normal, I have to remind myself to take a step back and check my privilege. I hate that my first thought of all of this was selfishly about my vacation and I felt guilty of even thinking those thoughts in the first place. But I choose to take the time to reevaluate the situation I am in and know there are bigger issues we must overcome first. I have my health, a job that allows me to work from home and an apartment I feel safe to stay in. Businesses are closing, 6.6 million US citizens are unemployed and so many people around the globe are sick and dying. The essential workers that have no choice but to go into work are the heroes in all of this. Nothing but utter respect to those who are putting their heath on the line for our safety.
2020 is scary for the entire world. I remember watching Contagion in the movies theaters when it came out in 2011. I never thought a pandemic like the plot of the movie could come a little bit true (even though this is not as extreme as the virus in the movie). All of this Covid-19 information has been really been hard for me to wrap my head around. Being someone with anxiety to begin with, the idea of uncertainty is very unsettling to me. Nobody can see the future and tell us the lasting effects this pandemic is going to cause. I’m really trying to remain positive and I keep having to remind myself that in order for this to be over as soon as possible- this is what we have to do. It’s okay to feel anxious about this- we are all in this together.
I want to be able to get back to my normal routine as soon as possible and if people are continuing to leave the house and not social distancing- it will take longer to do so. Please remember it is critical to do your part and STAY HOME.
Thanks for reading-
Arrivederci
xo Jenna