Amber Interview, September 17, 2020

Hi, I was invited here by Bea Porter, my name is Amber.

COVID has affected me in many ways as it has for most of us. The first thing being and the thing that I think sticks out to me the most is when it all became really real for the world and for the United States. I lost my job, I had just moved to a new city, I was kind of starting from the ground up, and I lost my job,.I was working really hard, full time to be a nanny. And to kind of get my foot in the door in that field. And I when it all began, I was under the impression that I would be actually getting more hours and making more money. But instead, I don't know where overnight, I lost my job. No warning, no nothing. So I think that was the first time where it really hit me how serious this was.

I think during that time, what kept me going was just the support of the people around me and the hope that I held on to for finding answers and getting help.

Unfortunately, I was unable to collect any type of unemployment. I was I was getting no help anywhere, as so many were. And I started losing hope a little bit. I kind of lost lost it for a while. And a lot of really horrible things not only were happening in the world around me, but they were happening in my world. Lost a very close family member. Life was just a mess for a while. So it was hard to keep going, like to keep on going.

But after some time for grieving and feeling sorry for myself, I, I made it work, I found a full time job. I moved into a new place. And things started feeling a little bit normal, more normal for me, even though nothing's normal anymore. This is kind of our new normal.

And the hope I have that we all learn from this is how important it is to have your own opinion and do your own fact checking. I mean, that's a big one. I hope that we can come out of this stronger, more united and more understanding that not everything is what it seems.

And also not to take, take for granted the life that we have and the life that we had. Your normal everyday things could be gone. Even even things that you don't necessarily think to be thankful for and to to look at as a blessing. I think that's a big thing a lot of people have learned through all of this is that you really can't take for granted anything. Because as a society, everything is constantly shifting and changing and evolving. And I mean, this is the effect of Coronavirus. COVID-19 has affected everyone so differently yet so similarly, that I think the strongest people will recognize that and be able to unite and do better for their future and the future of their surroundings. And all I can hope for is that enough of us learn that that we can do better in the future and make things much more fluid and united. So thank you.