It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. So, the biggest question may be, “Where You Been?” Yeah, yeah, I know. I should technically say, “Where Have I Been?”, but this is a blog—not some sort of grammar test.
I have been writing, but much of
that writing has been for school projects. In 2019 I went back to school to
update my skillset. I wasn’t having much luck finding a good job. Sure, I had work,
but nothing that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Actually, there was
almost the constant internal nagging of just quitting and removing a big stress
in my life.
Instead of quitting, I decided to
do something positive and go back to school. I just finished up degree work in
Digital Video and Media Technology at Stark State College. Basically, I learned
content creation—in particular videography, photography, editing, sound design,
graphic design, and even some web design. In short, I added the technical media
skills, which are so needed today, to my creative writing skills. I’m also a
skilled educator, but honestly, I don’t want to do that any longer.
Along the way I ended up experiencing
my first global pandemic. Yeah me! Fortunately, I didn’t catch the bug. I’m
fully vaccinated and made sure to stay in the house. At times I felt like a dog
with public health officials being my owner and telling me when I can and can’t
leave the house.
Like many, I experienced loss.
Early in the pandemic, my aunt passed away. She was in a nursing home. I heard
rumors that Covid had hit the nursing home. Turns out those rumors were true.
Fortunately, I was able to go and see her right before lockdown. It was an
extreme hardship on my two cousins, who couldn’t see their mom face-to-face
during the last weeks of her life. They had to see her through the nursing home
windows. She was buried with a small service with just her daughters and maybe
a few others present. They didn’t want to expose family and friends to the
virus during the pandemic. There was talk of plans to have a larger memorial
after the pandemic was over. I’m not sure if that will happen. Two years is a
long time to revisit the grief of such a loss.
I also lost a friend. I would
occasionally go to a movie with her and we would have an occasional chat on the
phone. She was one of my former students. She was a nice lady and I occasionally
think of her and miss not being able to reach out.
Taking classes during the pandemic
was an experience. Spring of 2020 classes were going great. I was in a fun media
class. The instructor was great and every week we’d have great conversations in
class. Then everything changed. Classes moving to being virtual. Everything
became disconnected. Now, everything was a Zoom meeting and a discussion board.
It just wasn’t the same.
I was also just starting to get
involved with Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society at Stark State. Then, I became
disconnected. I lost about a year of involvement. I did eventually become
engaged. I became the Newsletter Editor and then Vice President. It was a great
experience, but I feel I missed a year of fun because the world went sideways.
Now, I’m looking for work. I feel
both hopeful and frayed. The last couple years have been weird. Where you been?
I’ve been surviving a global pandemic. I’ve lost a few people close to me. I’ve
faced some hardships, but I’ve also had blessings. I’m now fully engaged in
figuring out where I am. So, where you been?
