Finding Home
At this point, I’ve been locked away in my home for well over three weeks. I want, more than anything else, to go outside — to smell, touch, see, hear, and in a weird way taste the nature outside my home, all without being encumbered by a mask and gloves, and an incurable inclination to disinfect everything with which my senses interact. At the same time, however, I recognize what the pandemic, in all its mayhem, has done for me. For example, it has allowed me to appreciate my home more. Home, which is for me the house I live in with my parents and seven siblings, has always been paradoxical in nature. While being at times the place I want most to be, it has also been the place I want most to run away from. But right now, as I write this, I see the beauty in the feuds we have, the messes we make, the activities we do to keep ourselves busy, and having two parents who would do anything to keep us safe and happy.
Emmanuel stares pensively at me. His expression to me is beautiful. I felt as if he was staring into my soul.
Here I capture Rebecca, my sister who is six, sitting pensively on our coffee table.
Matthew, my five year old brother, is pictured here relaxing with Emmanuel who is playing an educational game on his Fire Tablet. We usually let them do so after sitting down with them for instruction.
My sister Rebecca hangs upside down on our couch as she watches her favorite Netflix TV Show, Miraculous Lady Bug.
Emmanuel knows that he must sanitize — or wash — his hands frequently. My mom and dad, in particular, have done their best to teach my younger siblings about the virus and why they should take precautions.
As a little boy, I recall spending most of my time on trips to Costco at the Food Court. There, I would gorge on beautifully oversized slices of pizza as my mom gathered the goods we needed for the month. That, to me, was happiness, as cheesy as it sounds (pun intended).
Now, as a result of the Coronavirus, Costco’s ambience has completely changed. Long lines fill up its parking lots and people inside fight with each other over limited goods. Costco, in a way, is revealing of our nature: we are weak, afraid and greedy.
This isn’t to say that the Coronavirus has only brought out the worst in us—far from that. I have seen and heard about people doing incredible, selfless things recently. And Costco has, like other essential businesses, done everything in its power to keep providing people with the goods they need to make it through the never ending, quarantined days.
These images show the situation at Costco, a popular wholesale retailer in the US. More deeply, they portray the situation in the US: people are afraid and feel the need to stock up on goods. Long lines at grocery stores and wholesale retailers ensue.
These images show the situation at Costco, a popular wholesale retailer in the US. More deeply, they portray the situation in the US: people are afraid and feel the need to stock up on goods. Long lines at grocery stores and wholesale retailers ensue.