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Michael Joel Hall

Instagram · Mar 13, 2024

in image4 years since the WHO declared COVID-19 a
pandemic. Many of us never dropped our shoulders
after that. Some of us literally can't breathe the same.
COVID was not the great equalizer we naively hoped,
but it was an event of mass clarity. Changed how we
saw people and government. There are friends and
family I still don't talk to, not after I witnessed risks
and privileges so different from mine. Did I overreact?
The official death toll is 7 million, but related deaths
are immeasurably higher. Is 4 years enough to mourn?
When will I get over streaming my grandmother's
funeral on a shitty signal on Facebook Live?
COVID fractured our version of reality. How could
some of us believe in a disease and others not? See
masks and vaccinations so differently? And how do
we consider millions dead and disabled but
also...good things? How many origin stories start with
"during the pandemic, I..started my business, learned
to (blank), got pregnant, got this dog, fell in love."
COVID changed our center of gravity by 6 feet, forced
us to cross the Rubicon. What parts of us stayed in
that lockdown, and what parts were set free?
Leo Herrera
@herreraimages
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 · 1:51 pm
reflectionreadinggriefreflection
FamilyGriefLoveWork

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