#OnHoldAtHome with Raquel & her Dad
“It’s difficult to imagine what the next year or so of my life might look like.”
What are your fears and/or concerns right now?
There’s a lot of speculation going on about what the future might bring for college students, especially for me studying in New York City, the epicenter of COVID-19 in the U.S. Every day I realize how much of my life was on campus. I was housed, fed, and taught – I was establishing my adult life. While there, I felt a clear sense of trajectory and purpose that has faded the longer I sit in my childhood home waiting. It’s difficult to imagine what the next year or so of my life might look like. My future is very much out of my hands, but in whose hands it is now, I'm not sure.
What have you learned from living this new normal?
Since I had to move out quickly, a fellow student packed up my dorm room. We sat on FaceTime and went from drawer to drawer, keeping the important things and throwing away anything not worth shipping. In the end, my entire life was condensed into five boxes. I've spent time thinking about the ways we consume things. If this were to happen again, would I pack the same things? I hope I don't forget this as I move into the new periods, homes and relationships of my life.
Do you think anything positive will come from all of this?
The country's eyes have never been so open to the flaws in capitalism, the two-party system, the prison industrial complex, world politics, etc. The frustrations we’ve faced in our powerlessness will, I hope, inspire us to take on these flaws with renewed vigor. I think being exposed to COVID-19 has created a healthy and productive fear that will motivate us to tackle the conditions that made the pandemic so disastrous to being with.
READ THE STORIES
Click on any of the images below to learn more about what's on the minds of fellow Richmonders. From the pandemic to protests, our community has traveled through months of uncertainty, introspection and reflection. Sharing stories gives us an opportunity to learn, connect and grow with one another in the hopes of cultivating a more compassionate, open-minded and empathetic city to live in.
