Quarantine Diaries
3 MINUTE READ
Silence !
We go through life experiencing and living through episodes of events that enrich our lives. Those episodes, some dark and some bright, make it worth every step of the journey.
With the current situation we all find ourselves in, memories of my childhood are resurfacing.
For instance, twenty-six years ago at the height of the Rwandan Genocide, my family and I found ourselves in lockdown in a hotel. During our hiding, echoes of gunshots and shelling could be in the background. As a result, we stayed hidden in the cupboards, spend our days sleeping, eating and trying to comprehend what was happening around us. Another similarities that remind of that time are the checkpoints. At the height of the Genocide, they were roadblocks set up in major parts of the city. They were set up to control the movements of people, from one area to another or to those fleeing the war.
“At the height of the Genocide, they were roadblocks set up in major parts of the city. They were set up to control the movements of people, from one area to another or to those fleeing the war”
Fast forward today, I find myself in a hotel. Just like in my childhood, I am confined in a hotel with nowhere to go. The endless wait, the uncertainty and the moments of fear. My mornings are pretty the same. I am awakened by the chatter of the birds and the hovering sound of the fan overhead. I try to occupy myself and flee from my thoughts. However, that sometimes proves fruitless.
On the other hand, staring blankly at the ceiling has proven to be my silver lining at this moment. The rotation of the blades of the fan, combined with the soft blow calms my mind down. Consequently, the inspiration and my thoughts start flowing. It has become my daily routine to try and pen them down. I reflect that this is the second time I have had to adjust my surroundings as the results of the current crisis. Lost in my thoughts again, it occurs to me that I have been through this before.
Firstly I ask myself, how do I overcome all this? Moreover, how do I deal with my fears and pains while working on becoming a better version of myself? While I do not have the answers to those questions right now, I do know that it will take time. And the only thing to do for now, is accepting and acknowledge my feelings.
In conclusion, the take away from this chapter of my life is that all of these events have shaped me into who I am today. Overcoming hardship, grief, loneliness and the challenges I have encountered, I have come to learn that every experience that I live through serves as a lesson. It provides me with an internal space of comfort that I go to in times of crisis.
Thank you for reading along, please do share or leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.
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Jupiter K.
I am a French photographer, a travel expert who has explored over 75 countries on 7 Continents. As a student of life, I travel across the globe in search of life lessons, making meaningful connections through my images.
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