Where You Been?

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?