This is an extremely harsh time for me, as the pandemic goes on and I lost some of important people in my life. I feel like I don’t know how to write any more. So, I’ll just write what the prompt asks.
The meme that stands out to me is a meme created for Animal Crossing players. I think the game is of greatest luck since it was put into market when almost all people are isolated at home and the game is a really good way to kill time. Also, the content of the game can be engaging to people of all ages. They are cute, slightly challenging, and creative in terms of building our own isolated islands.
The news that stands out to me was an article from The Economist magazine that narrates the experience of a psychiatric in Wuhan, the epicenter of China. While all news outlets are overwhelmed with the statistics of people infected, politicians’ sluggish reactions to the containment of the virus, or discussions over some controversial incidents like travel ban and city lock-downs, this story provides a unique perspective about how some everyday people are getting through the critical period, but under a broad background.
As the New Yorker notes, the quality of journalism is extremely important right now. I have seen discussions on social media, many, including me, have get tired of media bombarding us with dozens of “breaking news” every day while they are normally repeating policy updates or experts’ predictions of the development of the pandemic. Readers like me are actually looking for common people’s big story to find comfort in this precarious era, instead of diplomatic statements made by government officials or M.D.s. Though this story still mentioned how dire the situation of Wuhan was in January, it focuses on Mingjun Du, who turned his office phone to a mental-health hotline accessible to all Wuhan residents. We can hear, from his narration, how moms are worrying about their children, how people dying from complications of the COVID-19 cannot accept the truth of dying, and how desperate a 17-year-old boy studying in England heard that his entire family, his parents, grandparents, and younger sister all died because of the coronavirus.
Cold numbers constantly updating on the main page of news outlets cannot trigger my emotion anymore as I have seen it in China and now U.S. for more than two months. Those stories of people from various backgrounds, again reminded me that the pandemic is not about how thousands of people died from it, but the tragedy of someone dies from it repeated thousands of times. I have never realized more heartbreakingly how precious life is and what family means to all of us.
The media consumption at this time cannot get any more absurd. On one half, people are sharing funny memes, binge watching TV series, and playing video games with families. On the other half, people are worried about the situation or asking for help desperately as their family or themselves was infected but not yet hospitalized.
I don’t know what to say, but I sincerely wish that the disaster can be terminated as soon as possible.
Xiangyuan Chi 