I’m writing this with my face mask on. This is not because of Covid-19, but merely because of my allergy. I found myself sneezing non stop in my 4th grade at school. I was 9 years old and I’ve been allergic to pollen and other small particles from air pollution since then. Every single year, I had to wear a face mask from about February to May, not only when I was outside but also when I was in bed because I couldn’t sleep because of my own sneezing. It continued until when I left Japan. Now I’m mid thirty and I speak two different languages apart from my mother tongue. Two of them are known for the most complicated grammar in the world. I don’t think face masks damage my brain function at all. Besides, it alleviated my allergy.
Two weeks ago, I walked to the city and came back. It was 55km and I took 11hours. I was wearing a face mask all the way because runners and cyclists passed by suddenly and when I came back, I felt better than I did 20 years ago. Wearing a face mask is nothing new in Asian countries. However unfortunately, some people don’t like any kind of change. They fasten a seat belt but they are scared of face masks.
Those who are refusing face masks were also left behind other preceding changes. It’s not a face mask, it’s their mentality. Two years ago, I helped my neighbor fix the broken sewage. Three days later, I helped him again. Same me, the difference was I travelled to the other side of the globe and came back. The world is smaller than most of us might think. Now anyone can travel to the other side of the world within 12 hours. All a passenger has to do is just to drink wine and sleep, and wear a face mask recently. When he wakes up, he’d find himself already there. I had to travel countless times over the past years. I honestly do not want to travel any more centimeters. I’m so tired of it. Because it was boring. It was as boring and simple as opening two doors and arriving at another airport already. This is why most of us knew the virus would come to the US and Europe in no time. China is nowhere far from the west. It’s just around the corner. However unfortunately, we had some groups of people who thought it takes months to come from China by camels and horses. They underestimated the magnitude of the pandemic and we are entering the second lockdown.
On my SNS, there are a couple of people who deny the existence of Covid-19. One of them trolls me 24/7, so I asked him if he doesn’t have a job. He said he’s working from home. Wait, Covid-19 doesn’t exist according to him. Why is he taking the social distance. Another denier tested positive. One of my friends, who I take contact with regularly, has been ill from Covid-19 for over 5 weeks already. This person caught the virus through an anti-masker. In the 5th week, the fever finally left but my friend still has the pain in the chest coming with every motion. The sense of taste and smell are still limited, even the sense of hunger has gone. Still suffering the strong fatigue. I believe my friend won’t die, but obviously it’s not the state where this person can go to work and survive from 9 to 5. It’s been 5 weeks. It’s not only to die or not to die. Being sick for weeks socially kills us.
We need to prepare for the worst in the confidence interval of possibilities. However this is not pessimism. Actually we need to be quite optimistic when we prepare for the worst. Only a healthy and strong mind can put up with the unpleasing scenarios. Underestimating the threat is not the proof of strength, it’s only the evidence of one’s weakness. Everyone has to be a leader of himself / herself and their own community. A strong leader doesn’t leave disabled ones behind. A strong leader braces himself for the worst, but is ready to sacrifice what he has.
By the way, I took 20 minutes to write this and I’m still wearing the face mask. Am I dead ? At least I stopped sneezing.
