Self-Care; the 'Rona edition

The hottest topic in the planning world.. really all over the world - the coronavirus aka COVID-19. It's crazy how quickly so many of our "normal" lives have changed without any warning or real time to adjust... talk about boys showing out for the 'gram. The widespread of COVID-19 has been nerve wrecking for sure but I think we all need a break from social media "news" to process, refresh, and regain some sense of hope.. so here's my ONLY two cents about ALL of it. Let's get it...

The coronavirus has seemingly turned everyone on my social media into biologists, scientists, doctors, healthcare professionals, and geniuses of medicine... who knew they were all hoarding their "genius" on IG, Twitter, and Facebook? I say that to say - this is scary shit but it's apparent the real facts behind it, besides the number of cases/deaths, are uncertain, even to those in the healthcare profession. You could say I'm naive to what's going on, in reality, I'm overly optimistic because the way my anxiety is setup I'd have lost my sanity by now if I was scrounging the internet looking for more ways to panic..

I haven't really folded into the "hysteria" of COVID=19 because I'm 100% sure numbers will continue to rise and more cases will come out as positive, but I know there's some light at the end of the tunnel - there always is. With that being said, I think it's a matter now of taking a step back and looking at how we got here - from an urban planner's perspective. Our designs, our codes, the structure in our jobs, the empathy of companies/bosses, and the ignorance of misinformation. We've honestly contributed to this without even realizing it, but now we have the chance to really change the tide and start fresh with our approach. We've been forced to calm the chaos within our own little bubbles and focus on the bigger, bigger picture; which can vary for everyone. Me personally, I've been more productive, clear minded, and happiest since all this went down - I forced myself to breathe (lol) and look ahead to brighter days, which I admittedly took for granted before. The virus is freaky but rewarding at the same time, ya know? It's showed true colors in companies, it forced reconnection with family and self, it put our lives in a freeze frame - it also hurt a lot of small businesses, forced layoffs and/or cut hours, uprooted "normal" life, ruined big moments for all of us, and exposed the human element of CARE. For every disaster, there's a beautiful rainbow at the end - the fun part is, you'll never know when it's coming you just have to be ready.

I didn't want to repeat, recite, or loudmouth facts because why? Enough people are doing that as we speak - I wanted to be realistic, genuine, open, and optimistic about everything. If you didn't gain anything else from this post please take away the simple, costless acts of kindness, care, and empathy. Remember when we were told as kids, "if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything", now is the perfect time for

some people to consider that. I don't have the answers, I don't have a ton of data...I just have the faith of being hopeful. I hope y'all have the same kind of faith..

And please for the sake of those who may/may not be vulnerable to the virus plus those of want to be outside, go back to work, and kick it with our homies - STAY YA ASS IN THE HOUSE! Or keep it to the essentials, stop going out, stop having get togethers/kickbacks, and pleaseeee stop posting ignorat shit on social media.

THANK YOU TO THE NURSES, DOCS, TEACHERS, SOCIAL WORKERS, FIRE/EMS/POLICE, NON=PROFITS AND EVERYONE ELSE OUT WORKING DURING THIS TIME!! Y'all are beings beyond super heroes..

yours truly..

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