I saw the initiative created by 
To be honest at first I didn't plan on participate because I thought that I didn't have much to say about Covid because I feel that my life hasn't changed much, but on the other hand I wanted to do something to help 
It was when I read other entries that I realized that indeed my life changed, I mean, whose life didn't change?
At first the changes I noticed were small ones, starting from my birthday, when it all started last year I thought that by my birthday it would all be over, mi birthday is in august and quarantine was supposed to last only one month and by may we all were going to go back to work.
August came and I couldn't celebrate it as I usually do in my favorite restaurant with my friends.
Back then, it was the only thing that was affected by Covid in my life and I didn't mind, I didn't see it as something bad or a big change, it just turned my birthday in a random day, that's all, nothing to make a fuzz out of it.
That's me celebrating my birthday, unable to make a party in a fancy restaurant I like with my closest friends.
That t-shirt I'm wearing says "Coronavirus ruined my birthday" I printed it, and actually I sold many of those from April to July last year, that's something good I got out of Covid.
The mayor change was at work, at first I was glad that I would be able to work from home, again, thinking it would only last a month, not a whole year and counting.
Reality hit when I went to the school I work at to bring stickers they asked me to make, I'm a graphic designer there so I had to make all the signs for social distancing and printed banners with the protocol to get into the school. When I got there and saw the changes they were making in the entrance was when I realized this wasn't going to be over soon, at first I thought it was going to be like it was with the Influenza years ago when we had to stay home for a couple of weeks and then it was all normal again, the only change was that they installed cleansing gel in different parts of the school so we could sanitize our hands often.
But now I saw there a big change in the reception, they made it wider and installed a filter to check every person that gets in.
We had to carry on with work, and being a school we are used to have different events for the kids, summer camp was cancelled, just as well as a huge sports event called "Josefinadas" which has been a tradition for years.
By October we always have trick or treat events, this time not for students but for the employees's sons and daughters, we provide a safe place for them to go trick or treating, we decorate the offices as halloween stations, we all use costumes and it's fun for all... well halloween 2020 was very different, families entered the school in their cars and we handed them the candies through the window, no contact at all, no tours, no gathering for photos with the best costumes, it wasn't as special and fun as it's always been.
I still enjoyed being the Mad Hater but it would had been better without going through a pandemic which by then had already lasted a very long time, I still had the hope that it wouldn't last a year since it started.
But the part that affected me the most, and I know that the same happens to many others, is that I've lost family, not all because of Covid but they aren't here anymore, and because of quarantine I couldn't see them for a year, I couldn't see them when they were on their last moments and I won't see them ever again.
One of the persons that I lost was my grandmother, at first it didn't hurt me because I wasn't very close to her, but what hurts me is the way it affected my mom, she lost her mother and she often says she hates Covid for not leting her visit her mother as often as she did before the virus spread, all my aunts and uncles didn't visit her often just to keep her safe, it was hard on all of them to lose her, and it was harder not to give her the proper goodbye.
The family dealt with the loss in different ways, some of us still remained away from each other to be safe, others decided to seize the moment because no one was sure if we would lose another family member.
The ones who seized the moment went to a wedding at the beach, they took the opportunity to gather, to take a vacation and celebrate, and well they were happy indeed, but sadly some got Covid from that trip and less than a month later after they were celebrating at the wedding they were crying the deaths of two more family members.
It's frustrating not being able to freely see your loved ones, and if you do see them and gather with many people you still don't enjoy it freely because you're with the guard up high.
I still joke about being ready to face a zombie apocalypse, I joke about finally find my years of watching zombie movies or playing zombie video games useful; also I half joke, half talk seriously about printing over my Covid birthday t-shirt an "again", honestly I hope that by next August things would be better but who knows.
For now at least vaccines are being shot, just last week my parents got their vaccine and that makes me feel relaxed for them and today at a virtual job meeting they told us that by May teachers will start to get the vaccine, I'm not a teacher so I have to wait a little longer but at least there's some ray of light between the clouds.
The good thing I see from all this social distancing and use protection to stay sanitized is that I haven't got a flu for a whole year, usually I get sick between november-february but now I've been boogerless, that's something I don't complain about.
Unlike how it was with Influenza quarantine, this time there won't be a "normal again" nothing will be the same.
It doesn't matter if you believe it's all fake, if there's a conspiracy behind it all, if you are male, female, rich, poor, white, black, yellow, pink, an alien; we are all vulnerable, there are tons of viruses roaming through the air but this one took us by surprise, I don't care if it came from a bat soup or from a lab or from a biblical plague, wherever it came from we all have to keep taking care of ourselves to take care of others.
When the movie Bird box came out in 2018, most of the comments were "if they know that there's something outside killing them why do they go out? all they have to do is stay inside!" ... well... now we know we can't stay inside forever, we need food, supplies, go to work, but all we have to do is wear a proper mask! it's not something impossible, just use the mask and follow recommendations!!
In the game Left 4 Dead there are lots of posters with the recommendations to prevent get infected with green flu, they didn't listen and situation escalated quickly... It's just a game, but it's just a simple recommendation, an instruction to prevent getting sick, persons in the game didn't listen and persons in real life don't listen either.
Many complain that the mask doesn't let them breath normally, that is useless, but, if you use a jacket when you're cold then why not use a mask when you're in the middle of a pandemic?
I took that picture from the game Left4Dead while playing online.
Banners made by me on Ai.
Pictures belong to me.
