My Journal

The Eye of the Storm

7/9/20 - 5:24 a.m - Can't sleep due to caffeine in migraine medication.

Personal Update

I've been having another wonderful week with my boyfriend. Our state is experiencing a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, so we're stuck inside of his house with no end to the pandemic in sight. Sadly my boyfriend will leave the state for college in three weeks for his university's Head Start program for incoming freshmen. He's decided to attend his first semester of college courses on campus, despite the risk of catching COVID-19. I, however, have decided that I will spend my fifth semester of college taking online courses from my bedroom.

It's so unfortunate that my boyfriend and I will have to spend another few months in different states. We've been a long-distance couple for three years until the quarantine began in March. Our colleges are twenty minutes apart, and I was really looking forward to being near him next semester. But we've made our decisions, and we've accepted that we have to wait a bit longer to have an in-person relationship.

Besides that, things have been going fairly well, which is extremely...odd. Perhaps it's the calm before the storm, or rather, within the storm? As I mentioned, I've been spending time with my boyfriend since last Wednesday. We've been playing video games, watching Netflix, swimming, eating good food—the usual. Can I just say, I love this man! He's so generous with his time and energy. Like today, I had this huge migraine, and I convinced myself that I had COVID-19 because my tried-and-true migraine medication hadn't kicked in as quickly as usual. He spent about ten minutes talking me down from an anxiety attack, and my migraine immediately dissipated, like magic. Afterward, he brought me an ice pack, a Gatorade, and dinner in bed, and I thanked him about a hundred times. We ate our delicious steak dinner in his room together, and I couldn't have been happier. My love language is acts of service. Can you tell?

Also, I've been taking some time each day to do some online work for my (unpaid) summer internship. While I'm not too fond of the nature of this work, I like that I am working for a good cause. And I'm happy that I'm learning more about my preferred work environment and style.

Things back home are going pretty well. My mom and I are getting along. Ever since she got her surgery and moved into the new house, she's been calmer and nicer. We've been cooking and baking together throughout the past few weeks, and she recently let me play in her old polymer clay. We plan to make homemade candles when I return home. I'm going to make a special candle for my best friend's birthday gift. We actually have the same birthday, and it's coming up soon.

Community update

Things remain tumultuous within the U.S. COVID-19 cases are still increasing, and we're lagging behind other countries in terms of improvement. Tensions presist within the Black community, even after the social media outrage has quieted. Independence Day was (somewhat) cancelled. Some colleges are reopening in the fall despite COVID-19 risk; others are holding only online courses. ICE has implemented laws stating that international students may not remain in the U.S unless they take at least one in-person course at their universities. Protests. Petitions. An upcoming presidential election. And there's likely more news, but I have been M.I.A on social media until recently.