Transcription:
– Me: Can you describe your experience during the COVID-19 pandemic?
– Guess: The outbreak broke out strongly when I was in high school, grades 11 to 12. At that time, I was ordered to quarantine in the dormitory and not have contact with anyone other than the dorm manager. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought me a very unforgettable experience, and sometimes it feels like a big challenge with indescribable feelings. Studying online at home is really not a fun thing. At first, I felt excited when I could sit in my own room, without having to go to school or carefully prepare clothes every morning. But gradually, that feeling was quickly replaced by boredom and loneliness. Not being able to meet friends or teachers makes studying monotonous and lacking interaction. Instead of having a face-to-face discussion, I can only sit in front of the computer screen, listen and take notes. Classes seem longer, and you feel more exhausted when you have to focus on the screen for a long time. The feeling of being cramped in a small space, combined with the lack of social connection, sometimes makes me feel like I’m imprisoned.
– Me: How did it affect your personal life and work?
– Guess: Movement and meetings with friends and relatives are limited, making me feel lonely and sometimes very stressed. In the early days, constantly staying at home made me feel cramped, and this feeling gradually turned into an invisible anxiety. However, over time, I learned to balance myself, spending time on personal interests such as reading, writing, and especially spending more time calling my family. In my free time, I create joy for myself by writing comics or sharing about my life with people who are suffering from the same situation as me. Gradually I became interested in writing as well as writing stories. During the quarantine days, my writing skills improved a lot and from then on I found my direction to become a freelance writer of books and stories.
– Me: What has changed where you live now compared to many years ago?
– Guess: After the COVID-19 pandemic, the place where I live has had many obvious changes, not only in infrastructure but also in lifestyle and how people interact with each other. One of the most noticeable changes is that people’s awareness of hygiene and health safety has increased significantly. Masks and hand sanitizer have become familiar items every time we go out. In many public places, there are still alcohol hand sanitizers and disinfectant tissues.
-Me: After the crises, has there been any impact on your work?
-Guess: The crises reshaped my outlook on being a writer. Socially conscious messaging was more in demand, and I moved into writing about resilience and equity. The experiences helped me to know the role I could continue to play for inclusion in storytelling.
-Me: How was your experience growing up and getting through COVID-19?
-Guess: It was a very lonely yet adaptive COVID-19 childhood; the restrictions, though hard, allowed me to find solace in creative outlets like writing and online peer-to-peer communications. It taught me resiliency, being self-sufficient, and changing when unexpected situations unfold.
-Me: What have you done in the Black Lives Matter movement?
-Guess: I protested, volunteered with black community supporting organizations, and wrote articles with which to amplify the movement’s demands. I also shared hard but necessary discussions about racial justice within my network. These experiences crystallized a commitment to advocacy and awareness even further.
-Me: What challenges did you face in your professional role during this time, and how did they shape your views on systemic issues such as healthcare, policing, or education?
-Guess: Professionally, it was hard to balance work with activism when stress and social unrest were on the rise. It showed disparities in healthcare, police, and education that really caused me to reconsider my priorities. In light of these experiences, I felt my determination to make work that advocates for change get stronger.
-Me: What lessons or insights have you learned from your experiences during this time?
-Guess: I did learn that unity and persistence are the keys toward change. Adversity inspires growth, and how each small movement collectively contributes to the big movement. It really instilled in me the need to remain hopeful and proactive during these times.
-Me: What would you say to future generations about this time and the movement’s impact?
-Guess: I would say that this was the time for unity and change, a birth of people amid everything that stood in their way. To this generation and to generations that would come after us, I would say never to underestimate the collective forces of society. At last, this showed that voices, united in cause, can bring down injustice and create structures more resilient in its place.
-Me: What lasting changes do you hope to see as a result of the movement?
-Guess: I hope to see long-lasting reforms in policing, education, and healthcare-one which ensures that all people, irrespective of their color, creed, or religion, are treated with equality and given equal opportunities. Apart from policy changes, I aspire to witness this cultural shift whereby the principles of inclusion and accountability are so deeply embedded within the social way of life. The real meaning of change is a world in which equality is not an ideal but a reality that exists.
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