Borderless

 

By: John Matthew Tuazon

As countries implemented restrictions, people were more than quick to respond and oblige. In the span of quarantine, businesses closed, traveling plummeted, and streets become silent. As isolating as it may be, the pandemic mended the gaps we have with each other. The hollow concrete of our houses may separate us from each other and ultimately, from the world, but this collective struggle invites the only silver lining one can see in this predicament—togetherness. 

Because of the drastic nation and international measures to combat the pandemic, the smallest unit of society felt momentous changes. How Coronavirus Changed Lives Around the World by Great Big Story elaborated this unprecedented pandemic on the accounts of different people. I was super impressed by how this video set the outlook that I have for the first module as it treaded on a positive note despite the fact of how insidious the virus is. Some countries started prioritizing home confinement as it became the most accessible solution to the pandemic. Although national governments acknowledged the marginalized, instances of privilege became evident. Along with this, helping became propagated and was extended from people to people. As I focus on it more, it really is scary; especially the notion that I have no control over the things that are happening outside. There is this embedded frustration that creeps inside of me knowing that while I am enjoying videos of BTS inside my home, there are people who are dying. We really can only do so much especially in this circumstance. I learned that the hard way early on the wide transmission of the virus in the Philippines when my father contracted COVID-19 along with acute pneumonia. The least and the most thing that I can do is have a video call with him from the other room. I never knew being separated by a mere door can create such distance. It is as if my father is in another country. 

I felt how slow time was. 

In the face of individual isolation, vital layers of relationships have been made stronger every day. Megan Craig beautifully narrated how the future is no farther than bedtime on any given day. It made me realize how I dread every day solely because of the fact that I absolutely have no control over it. In my case, I would always sleep and wake up with one thought: when will all this be over? When my father finally healed, I grew huge respect to those who take the pandemic seriously. I can only imagine losing an immediate family member, let alone your own father, and there are people somewhere who lost their loved ones due to the pandemic. By taking this health crisis as important as it is, one puts forth how we value human life; maybe that is one thing, out of a very scarce amount of things, that we can actually partake in to help. Great Big Story emphasized also the irony of this quarantine which is unity. This made me realize how collaborative fighting against the virus is. By merely helping one person, we may save more. It is a domino effect that ultimately makes humankind tight-knit in this situation of distance. Now I live my every day taking advantage of the abundance of time. I make sure to just merely live—a luxury that became a privilege in this trying time. I started quarantine hating it, but now I feel blessed with it, and with the notion of togetherness in order to fully combat this hurdle, it is imperative to be kind. 

I realized—in the most unpleasant way—that there is only so much time that we can spend with the people that we are very much close with, or even with all the people around us. We might as well take that opportunity before it goes away. 

Image: https://www.cosmopolitan.co.id/article/read/11/2020/23021/bts-merilis-
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