The COVID-19 pandemic has brought me ups and downs. By March 13th, I was afraid. By March 21st, I was unemployed. On April 28th, I lost my health insurance. I would spend the next six months fighting for unemployment benefits, healthcare, and the safety of my immune-compromised family. Since this pandemic I’ve been living with the constant anxiety of another day living through a global pandemic, watching the numbers grow, and fearing what went on in the world outside my door. Not knowing when it would all be over.

Unable to live a normal life, pursue a career in my industry or simply get to the grocery store to buy food let alone afford it, I became inconsolable. After months of fighting and working to keep my head above water, I finally secured health insurance and paid my bills, I finally found work that did not put my life at risk, I finally started to wake up from the nightmare I had been living.

I started my own business and reported to no one but myself. I put myself in positions of growth rather than risk. I could guarantee my own peace of mind but not my income. I still live with anxiety. The anxiety that I won’t be able to pay the next month’s rent or keep the utilities on. Without a steady job, lost to COVID-19, I do not know when that anxiety will go but I no longer live in fear for my life or that of my family now that the vaccines are in and the clouds are starting to clear.