Day 16/ The Isolation Journals: Post-Phone Call

Call someone you haven’t spoken to in some time. Ask what their days and weeks of isolation, or essential work have been like. What is a moment that has been significant for them in recent weeks? Try to understand why that moment in particular. What did it show them about themselves or their families or their coworkers? How did an emotion—a first gut response, like anger—evolve and reveal itself to be something else altogether, like fear?
 
Then, write a journal entry inspired by that conversation. Explore what stepping out of your own experience and into someone else’s brought up, maybe even clarified, for you. What was unexpected? Did it evoke a significant moment from your own life over these past weeks? How has your understanding of that moment changed? 


This afternoon I spontaneously asked my junior college theatre teacher if I could give her a call and so spent the next hour and six minutes speaking to her. It's been a few months, and we talked about some of the changes that have been ongoing because of the COVID circuit breaker. The classes have all gone online just like mine have, and they still have civics classes?! over Zoom. She told me about some funny instances when students would be brushing their teeth in front of the camera, or when her little one would Zoom-bomb the session. I was also concerned for my theatre studies and drama juniors and how their practical exam prep was going, given that now they don't have the physical time and space to rehearse and obtain critique. It must have been hard for Ms Lim, having to discuss with the higher ups about postponing exams and all that. And I told her that we're really lucky to have her, and I really meant it.

It was not so much my conversation with her (we also talked about my tattoos and I updated her about my TSD batchmates) but just a general realisation washing over me, the realisation that I have very much been sheltered from the effects of COVID, but also that I never know if (touch wood) we might be exposed to the virus and have our lives at risk. It's a scary thought to have- we never really know when something pivotal might happen and in this moment we can really only hold our breath while saying and doing all that we can to express our love and concern for each other... extraordinary times indeed.