2020 was a hard year, it was a year I was excited about when it first started as we were 5 months into our second pregnancy. I landed a job at an economics department working on lifting employment and planning better cities. It was in part a dream job of mine and a change from the typical health sector.
If you're stuck in what to do for work and always want work I'd recommend getting into law as there is an abundance of work across multiple sectors. Focus or major in policy/Legislation. I didn't know I wanted to get into it and I haven't done any special training for it, I just ended up being ok at it and haven't been out of work since.
Feb arrived and things really took a dive as everyone knows with the Pandemic and I have to admit around April I thought the world was ending. But it didn't and here we are.
I had my first dose of Pfizer on the 1st of June this year, one of the first amongst my peers as it was age limited in Australia. Mainly 60+ year olds were being vaccinated. As my wife is a nurse and she was an incharge on a COVID ward we had to get vaccinated. I was pretty concerned about if as I heard people were dieing from it but I didn't hesitate getting the jab because there were greater things at risk than just me dieing of jab which was a small minute chance compared to actually contracting the virus.
But it takes me back to February when it all started to roll out and things were getting a little edgy. I wasn't sad at the thought that the world was ending but angry. I was 34 and like most have had a significantly challenging life. I went through child abuse, homelessness, poverty, unemployment. Yet here I was at 34 finally with my shit together. A partner, a daughter, a son on the way, our own home a cat and a golden retriever.
I battled my way up from the gutter into the middle class and it felt good just being able to go to work each day, pay the bills and put food on the table. That in itself is the greatest luxury I had ever had. Here, in the back of my mind was a thought that the universe had popped it's head up to screw me over. I was pretty angry.
But what could we do? I initially made lock down fun with pretend trips to the beach and restaurant visits where I would make pub meals. I tried to make a thing of it and it lasted for a few months. I once printed out art work from European Cathedrals and blue tacked them to the kitchen walls, my wife thought I was insane but lil miss had a ball.
People have been worried about the side effects of the Jab so when I had my first dose I did a write up each day for 5 days of the side effects. I didn't really have any though. I did however learn that exercising helped subside the side effects as I mainly only had a head ache.
I was pretty nervous on my first jab as I have a legitimate phobia of needles, no idea why I just do. I was scared and clutched on tight onto the seat. A fear of nothing really just my brain doesn't like it 😆
I still hold concerns around the vaccination and mRNA and I'm totally excited about Novavax which is the tried and tested protein based vaccine that we have been getting since the 70s - 80s. We know it's safe on humans with limited side effects so it's wonderful that it should be ready to go by years end.
In regards to Pfizer and how it's gone, well I haven't developed any super powers yet which kind of sucks, was really hoping to develop flight or invisibility. Teleportation would be really awesome too but I can never decide.
Leads me onto my question, if you could have a superpower. Just one. What would it be?