10 minute read
QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH
from AVENues: Autumn 2020
by AVENues
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WAS YOUR COUNTRY ON LOCK DOWN (OR STILL IS IN LOCK DOWN) DURING COVID-19? EXPLAIN HOW THAT AFFECTED YOU. DID YOU DO ANYTHING NEW OR DIFFERENT?
The country I currently live in (Germany) was in lockdown. However, being an introvert, lockdown had a positive impact on me. I feel more relaxed working from home alone than being in the office every day. There was also far less external pressure to socialize with others. - Cathya
Yes, my country was in lockdown. I moved to another part of the country to look after my grandparents. - Bluebellstar
Kind of. It did not affect me that much because I am not that social anyways. But I had less to do at work. - Kimmie
My country is still in Lock-down, although slowly opening up. But international travel is still complicated, and my family is scattered across the globe. So not being able to see my Dad and siblings for unforeseeable future is very upsetting. - KathyHoh
Yes. I’ve been to work (in a school) for just 4 days over the last 13 weeks of school. I live in a tiny flat and am anxious about exercising outdoors so I haven’t done exercise; gyms open soon but I don’t know when my swimming pool will open. Support bubbles were available to anyone who lives by themselves but due to my anxiety I couldn’t ask anyone local and no-one asked me, so I have been on my own for nearly 17 weeks. I’ve had more time though, so I’ve been enjoying learning new things (songs on the keyboard, languages, and updating my math knowledge to help with work). I have also had time to consider what else is important so I’m trying to put more focus into being anti-racist, and I’ve started thinking more about what I eat so I eat a lot more vegan and vegetarian than before. - Anonymous
Yes, I live in the US and we went into lockdown about midMarch. This affected me a lot, I am a grad student who works in a lab so suddenly I was taking courses online and couldn’t get into the lab space to do my work. I also am a part of a couple different performing groups, all of our performances had to be cancelled. One was cancelled literally 2 days before we could perform. Thankfully we were able to record ourselves and put it up online, but it was a big shift to happen all at once. - Christa
Our schools moved online and all restaurants etc. closed. The capital area was in lockdown so only necessary trips were to be made to and from there. All of these regulations have now been taken down and life is returning close to how it was before. There are still some effects like how sports events can only have a small amount of audience and restaurants have limitations on the number of customers they can take at a time. - Anonymous
Yes. England is easing the lockdown, but I feel we should be being more careful about it. I’ve personally quite enjoyed it. As someone who is autistic and socially anxious, it’s been great not having to deal with people I don’t want to. The time has given me the opportunity to finally start taking cosplay seriously, as I’ve been kind of interested in doing for a while. - Elliott
During the lock down, I grieved deeply for my routine. I work in education, so I missed seeing my students and colleagues. Achieving a similar level of connection through the distance learning program was not easy, but it was not impossible. I did take the extra time I had on my hands to take online mindfulness classes such as yoga and meditation. Grounding myself in my practice has helped me see this pandemic with greater clarity. Although the infection rates are very high where I live as of July, I now feel a stronger sense of unity with strangers as we all agree to wear masks in public places and physically distance ourselves. - Sunnyside
My country was put into lock down, not for long though, maybe five, six weeks. I’m a student doing their last year of school, so I had online learning. Some of my subjects at school suffered, but I enjoyed all the moments. As an introvert. And also, as someone who wanted to be as far away and as safe from the virus as possible. The major effect was a lack of exercise and more time to read. There were some anxious points though, but the solitude helped me through. - B’Elanna
I live the in US, so we entered lockdown late and, living in the South, we came out of it early. I didn’t really get out much before this happened, but it did mean that I lost the last weeks of time with my friends before summer. We used to get together every week and thought the break was only going to be temporary, but with only a couple exceptions, I’ve not seen any of them in person since March. I worked remotely for a while but went back to inperson work in June. But with a co-worker testing positive, I have to go get tested again (second time this month), and I don’t know when or if I’ll be returning in person. The weirdest thing for me is the constant background hum of anxiety. That’s nothing new for me, but now it’s everywhere. Going to the grocery store, even with a mask, feels reckless and dangerous, and I feel the need to apologize to people if I have to pass them in the stairway or something. I have been journaling more often, though, which has helped to deal with some of the existential dread that seems to crop up every two or three weeks. - Anonymous
We are still in lockdown. It has affected me tremendously, as I had to finish my spring semester of college online. My summer internship was cancelled as well, and my fall classes will likely be online as well. Being in lockdown did give me more time to take care of myself by going on walks and eating healthy, so I guess that’s new. - Kat
My state (I’m from the US) was on lock down for a while but is in the process of trying to reopen. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a nationwide lockdown earlier on and now all the states are in different places. The main noticeable way it affected my life was it completely changed the end of my senior year of high school and now my freshman college experience. The last of my high school
classes and my graduation were all online and my senior band trip got cancelled, and now my college experience is very chaotic and different from how I was anticipating it being. - Anonymous
My country did go on lockdown, and most of the country still is in lockdown. My state isn’t in lockdown, though we still have closed borders and such. My state was less affected by Covid-19, and we don’t have many active cases anymore. The lockdown didn’t have too much of an impact on me apart from some decreased motivation in my studies and not being able to buy some basic groceries. - Aydin M
I live in America, so we have been in “lockdown” since March, though the guidelines are becoming looser every so often. Though I am currently able to go to work or other businesses when necessary, I am at home for the most part taking classes virtually. I have been fortunate to still have a job, but the pandemic has definitely had an impact on me. My ADHD and anxiety have gone through the roof, and every day feels like I am starting a new year trying to navigate all the changes. Some new things I have been doing to stay healthy include keeping a somewhat regular schedule, dedicating time to fighting for important issues like racial justice and leaning on my friends for support when needed. - Ronnie
HAVE YOUR ORIENTATIONS HAD AN IMPACT ON HOW YOU EXPERIENCED THE LOCK DOWN? (FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE A ROMANTIC PARTNER, WERE YOU TOGETHER?)
Lockdown has finally given me a chance to consider my orientation. I was lonely so decided to go back on a dating website but finally admitted on it that I was asexual (rather than ignoring labels), and I now accept myself more now that I’m willing to accept the label.
Anonymous
Yes, my partner found out I’m ace even though I chose not to tell him yet. - Lucid
It has been much harder to find and feel supported by the communities I used to have before the pandemic. Being at home by myself most of the time has made me feel more alone than ever, especially being asexual and aromantic. I didn’t want to find a sexual or romantic partner, nor would one be comforting to me even during the pandemic. I usually rely on my friends and peers for that emotional support, and not having that has been difficult. - Ronnie
As a single ace, I think I’ve had it pretty good to be honest. Seeing the memes online about everyone complaining about not being able to date and hook up has made me very relieved that I have minimal interest in those things. Being alone in my apartment though has definitely made me want to try dating again though, which probably isn’t a point I would have hit if I could have been outside with my friends all this time. - Christa
Definitely. Being ace made me constantly under pressure to suddenly become normal. - Bluebellstar
I had just discovered asexuality and joined an LGBTQ+ social group but did not feel confident with continuing when it became virtual. This has meant I have not really been able to discuss and explore this with other people at the moment. - Anonymous
I didn’t have a relationship with anyone at the time. I was isolated from everyone though. I didn’t really talk to my friends, just read, a lot. After we came out of social isolation, I didn’t know what to do with people. Still don’t. I lost a bit of confidence and found it harder to approach friends who had kept contact in the lock down where I hadn’t. Even though I only saw them once every two weeks, it still affected me greatly. One friend even got their lives together over the shutdown. I felt embarrassed, ‘cause if I did anything, it was the opposite. I couldn’t face them with ease as I once had. I’m still working on that.
B’Elanna
My fiancé and I were going to be married in late June but opted instead for a wedding in my parents’ kitchen in early May, which I think was a good decision. It was just us, our parents, and brothers, and two friends, and everyone else was on Zoom. That’s changed the way I experience lockdown tremendously because, otherwise, I’d still be living with my parents or alone in a small apartment and would have been since the start of the lockdown. That wouldn’t be good for my mental health. As it is, I still have rough days, but having someone to be next to me helps so, so much. - Anonymous
Not really. If anything, being asexual made things easier, as I wasn’t missing the physical parts of a relationship (like sex) that were denied to people because of quarantine. - Kat
I did not have a partner before but with all the increased at home time, I’m wishing I had some more friends closer to me both physically and emotionally. - Anonymous
Only in the sense that I was out at school but I’m still not at home (I live with my parents), so I haven’t been able to acknowledge it as much/have had to lie by omission a lot more. I didn’t think it’d feel quite as restrictive as it does, but I still have some outlets for it, so it’s bearable until college starts. - Anonymous
As an aromantic asexual, my orientations didn’t have much of an impact on me during quarantine, though not being able to cut my hair did slightly trigger my dysphoria as a transmasculine person. - Aydin M
