I wrote this poem in March of 2023. I guess I was angry that day. Lol.
ask me how I self medicated during the height of the pandemic
Iβm still salty about how you quarantined assholes treated us essential workers looking down on us, treating us like the plague making judgy statuses about we were all subpar I hope Karma got to some of you and you didnβt just get COVID one time but you got it three or four times I hope yβall got a lifetime of insomnia and cholesterol problems you have to take pills for the rest of your pathetic lives I hope yβall got a guilty conscience and life fucked you over and over again
One was born in the beginning of the 20th century the other was born in the beginning of the 21st century one was born out of unplanned wedlock one was a planned product of his parentβs love one was taught hatred for blacks and cholos the other was taught blacks lives matter and equality for everyone one had misogynistic tendencies thanks to his machismo culture the other other is that gender roles and conventions are a joke One went through the Spanish flu times the other is going through Covid times both shares similar genes generations apart both share the same Spanish name one could not been possible without the other
So Iβve been in denial for the past few weeks. I havenβt been keeping up with the COVID numbers as I usually do and have been ignoring the news about this new Delta variant of COVID. Last year, COVID basically consumed most of my life since I was an essential worker for the Department of Public Health and Kroger.
me in April 2020
It was basically an adrenaline rush that kept going strong with constant policy changes at both jobs until October/November and there was peace and almost going back to normalcy until late December when the COVID vaccination phases started. During this time, this took a toll on the mental health of me and my fellow coworkers. There were times that were so dark for me, that I wondered on some mornings if it would be the day I would be committed to the psych ward.
me in August 2020 on one of my worst mental health days
However, I was super fortunate to have support from friends and my then supportive partner during that awful time. I was also seeing Mr.Toxic who was my pandemic buddy who I would freak out with every time something new happened with the virus. Up until a few weeks ago, things had basically gone back to normal at both my jobs. Masks were basically a thing of the past (well for us that are fully vaccinated) and I wasnβt getting any calls about Covid.
Me in May of this year when Masks were no longer mandated at my second job
That changed this past week when once again the numbers are rocketing out of control with the Delta Variant. I also started getting calls again about Covid at my DPH job and once again masks have enforced for all employees at both of my jobs
August 2021-Here we go again
At this point Iβm honestly anxious about quite a few things:
How long before school goes remote? Iβm particularly worried about my 10 year old who is a social butterfly and hates remote learning. Also, all of these constant changes and transitions from in person to online learning cannot be good for the kiddos. I imagine therapy will be needed at some point for some of these kids.
I will be facing this COVID surge without the support of a romantic love interest this time around. Iβm kind of anxious about how I will cope but then again I really have no choice in this matter. Idk. Then again, I am lucky in having a great support system with my friends and my family and now my therapist. Iβm also more determined to turn to my set of healthier coping mechanisms (DBT, journaling, exercising , writing, etc.) which I hope helps me stay away from my usual unhealthy coping mechanisms (alcohol,binge shopping, dating apps, etc).
Will there ever come a point where COVID does become like the flu or will this stupid virus keep mutating and keep getting more contagious? Will we as a society ever get back to a sense of real normalcy?
It will be interesting to see how all of this will play out with the new surge. I hope that the new administration will be way more proactive than the previous one. I also hope that mental healthcareΒ ends up being more accessible to the general population because a lot of us will need it.Β
Below is the link for the COVID related post from last year: