My COVID Experience

 The COVID experience 

 

I have given much thought on what to write about for my last blog. After contemplating my options, I figured I'd hop on the bandwagon and talk about how the Coronavirus has impacted me. There are definitely some negative effects that this tragedy has generated, however, I have surprisingly been impacted in a positive way. 

 

Before I get to the good of the virus, let me get the negatives out of the way. To start, seeing my friends and family have come to a very minimum. After being used to seeing my friends every day at school and seeing my family almost every weekend, I am incredibly down because now I can't. And it has been months since I've seen them. Not being able to hang out or party with my family is something that really saddens me. I have never gone this long without seeing them. Let me not forget about all the plans that my friends and I wanted to check off our list! Or the cute date to Disneyland I was going to go on with my boyfriend!  

 

Even after all the negatives that Coronavirus has created, my life has dramatically changed. I have become more fit and healthier than ever and have even learned how to cook some delicious food! Early in quarantine, my household created a cooking schedule where we each have a specific day to cook dinner for the family. I got lots of recipes from The kittchen. There are so many mouthwatering, yet healthy recipes that I have prepared for my family using this website. To name a few, I have made turkey burgers, regular burgers, tacos, pizza, and much more. One of my favorite recipes is the bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers, it is such an easy and savoring meal that can be made with potatoes and vegetables! I really advise that you try it! it definitely will not disappoint. 

 

Not to mention, in the middle of quarantine, my cousin started a transformation challenge that most of my household has decided to participate in. The winner of the challenge wins $500 and some fun, fit prizes. In order to win, you must not only lose weight, but you have to lose body fat and build muscle as well. As motivation to win the challenge, I have continued to eat clean and workout almost every day of the week. And sometimes multiple times in one day. Going from a 2 mile run in the morning, to ab workouts, to Zumba class, to playing volleyball to end the night has become an exercise-filled Monday. Without this challenge, I would have probably never gotten to play volleyball like this again and I look forward to Monday's because of it. I have reconnected with the game I love and it feels phenomenal.  

 

Although the coronavirus has greatly impacted everyone in a negative way, I truly believe that this is a blessing in disguise.  

This is the bacon wrapped jalapeño popper chicken! So delicious! 

Dreaming of Reality

The other night I had a dream about my grandmother. It was my birthday and I stood in the kitchen looking towards the living room. In shock. Disbelief. Is this really a dream? Was that really my grandmother sitting on the couch as if she'd never passed away?  

 

She sat on her usual corner spot on the old, nut brown couch, wearing her black Mumu dress with red flowers on it. She was watching her favorite TV show, The Golden Girls and laughed every time they said something funny. She then called me over to talk to her. I don’t remember much of what she said besides the words "Forgive me", and then she gave me the tightest hug. I caught a whiff of the rich perfume and cream she used to wear every day. The aroma that I would kill to linger through my nose just one more time. To see, smell, hear, and touch her. It all felt so surreal.  

 

It is crazy to me that I wrote my personal essay about my grandmother and days later, she comes up in my dream! Not only that, but she showed up in my mother's dream on the same night.  

 

We don’t seem to think much of our dreams simply because they are dreams. When we had nightmares as a child, our parents would usually say "It's okay, it's just a dream" just to make us feel better. To feel like what we were dreaming about isn't actually real. Although dreams aren't real, they have deeper meanings to them. Our emotions heavily impact the way we dream. I'm sure many of us have had dreams about falling, being naked in public, or even teeth falling out. Most of these dreams signify that either something is not going well in life, you're afraid, or stressed. The article from the website Very Well Mind, lists the types of dreams most people have and the meaning behind it. I thought it was very interesting to read that after having a dream about falling teeth indicates the possibility of being stressed or worried.  

 

Another website that was very interesting was Power of Positivity. This lists seven signs that a loved one is contacting you. The fifth sign was "Your dream feels so real". The author describes that emotions are so strongly involved that you can feel their presence. This is often a "reawakening of grief" that the loved one did not "mean to cause pain, but wanted to be near you again". After writing my personal essay and having this dream, I realized that this was a reawakening of grief. My personal essay portrayed my real feelings that I have never spoken about with anyone about her passing and I truly believe that she was trying to contact me for comfort and reassurance.  

Here is an old image of my grandmother and I