Self-Isolation / Quarantined - Write
With it now April 1st, you may have already been self-isolated or quarantined for some time plus additional time into April. Here is a great idea to produce a historical record for future generations of this time – not just the events in your state or nation, but you personally or that of your family members. Write down what it has been like to be cut off from your regular routine, things to do and places to go. Creating your own record of what has happened to you can benefit your descendants and for the sake of history.
Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if you had an ancestor who lived during the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu and wrote down for the future what life was like. Were there shortages, were people isolated, what was medical treatments like and what was daily routine like for that ancestor. These are the type of first-hand information for today that you do need to record – get written down to share and save.
Encourage other family members or friends to do the same thing. You might think the newspapers, web sites and television stations are covering the information, but it is not your personal experiences – that is the difference.
A reminder, the entire globe is experiencing this pandemic and there are many differences for everyone. What would be especially interesting to include, maybe near the end of this period, is what benefit was experienced.
A good example was William Shakespeare in England when the land was paralyzed for much of 1606 when the plague returned to the city. After suddenly finding himself without a steady job and lots of free time, Shakespeare got to writing. He composed three great plays: King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra before the year was over. Isn’t that amazing??
Just keep a basic record of dates and events, and later if interested put into good paragraph structure. A journal or diary is a good form. Think of the many families who have handed down diaries or journals for decades. Don’t let what you have written on social media (Facebook – Twitter) be your only statement of how this pandemic has affected you. That social media might be around or available 50-100 years from now.
Write about this huge disruption in American life.
Photos: William Shakespeare; Spanish Flu and masks; Social Distancing.
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