Most of us welcomed 2020 with hope and positivity; we all wish it will be better than the years before in many ways.
The first month of the year was eventful, but not in a good way. So many things had happened in a span of days, with one crisis overlapping another: The worst leg of the Australian fires, the Iran-US conflict, Taal Volcano eruption, the 2019-nCoV, a deadly earthquake in Turkey, and the tragic death of the basketball legend from a helicopter crash.
While the gravity of these issues varies depending on the person who hears it, we can all agree that none of it was a good way to start the year.
This is the very reason why many people felt that January is a long month. For most of us, the beginning of the year simply sucks.
Early this month, World War III became a trending topic on Twitter after a US airstrike killed an Iranian General. Iran vows retaliation and attacked the US forces in Iraq that many think it’ll soon escalate to nuclear warfare. I don’t know the state of it at the moment—if the tension simmered down, or if one or both countries stepped down, or if it was only eclipsed by other news—whatever the reason, there’s no denying that the possibility of serious conflict is hovering us.
It’s also depressing to see that even if the Alert Level for Taal volcano has now been lowered to 3, the reality that most of our kababayans in the affected areas are going to start over from almost nothing breaks my heart. Even if the alert is down, the threat remains. The toughest part of it all is that no one knows how long will people suffer such uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the Coronavirus is not something we should take lightly as the worldwide death toll is rising fast.
I stocked up on face masks and alcohol; I don’t recall ever being this OC even during the flu season. I now avoid touching restroom doorknobs, escalator handrails or elevator buttons and stay away from crowded areas as much as possible. These measures are being done because I’m scared of what I’d bring home after a long day outside, more than what it can actually do to me.
Just last night, the Department of Health confirmed one of the hospitals in Pasay as having admitted a “person under observation” of the disease. It may not be a confirmed case yet (still no nCov case in the Philippines as of this writing) but it’s alarming, nonetheless. Remember that the virus has an incubation period, so with bated breaths, we wait.
Even if you wanted to be optimistic despite it all, there is still that considerable anxiety. Personally, it’s hard to watch the news and read social media posts these days not just because of these issues but more of how some people react to it. Like I’m shocked at the audacity of some to make every issue political. Seriously, social issues in itself are already complex, so people should just stop bickering over it.
Then there’s some who just enjoy bringing people down. I call it habitual skeptics, people who would oppose something because they thrive on angry responses.
I have this FB friend who expressed his irritation at how suddenly people became Kobe fans after his death, suggesting most are mere bandwagoners. Whether this is true or not, we don’t need such negativity anymore so why can’t he just let other people be? Besides, one doesn’t have to be a fan to mourn or feel bad over the death of some celebrity.
(Would you believe that people on the internet are fighting over the right way of wearing a surgical mask?)
Seriously, we don’t need this anymore.
Thankfully, the month is about to end, and I have to admit that I can’t wait to tear January off the 2020 calendar. With fingers crossed, I pray things will get better not just for myself, but for everybody. We might have experienced a rough start but let us not lose hope in the fact that after the bad comes the good.
I guess we should just have to keep the faith.
The first month of the year was eventful, but not in a good way. So many things had happened in a span of days, with one crisis overlapping another: The worst leg of the Australian fires, the Iran-US conflict, Taal Volcano eruption, the 2019-nCoV, a deadly earthquake in Turkey, and the tragic death of the basketball legend from a helicopter crash.
While the gravity of these issues varies depending on the person who hears it, we can all agree that none of it was a good way to start the year.
This is the very reason why many people felt that January is a long month. For most of us, the beginning of the year simply sucks.
Early this month, World War III became a trending topic on Twitter after a US airstrike killed an Iranian General. Iran vows retaliation and attacked the US forces in Iraq that many think it’ll soon escalate to nuclear warfare. I don’t know the state of it at the moment—if the tension simmered down, or if one or both countries stepped down, or if it was only eclipsed by other news—whatever the reason, there’s no denying that the possibility of serious conflict is hovering us.
It’s also depressing to see that even if the Alert Level for Taal volcano has now been lowered to 3, the reality that most of our kababayans in the affected areas are going to start over from almost nothing breaks my heart. Even if the alert is down, the threat remains. The toughest part of it all is that no one knows how long will people suffer such uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the Coronavirus is not something we should take lightly as the worldwide death toll is rising fast.
I stocked up on face masks and alcohol; I don’t recall ever being this OC even during the flu season. I now avoid touching restroom doorknobs, escalator handrails or elevator buttons and stay away from crowded areas as much as possible. These measures are being done because I’m scared of what I’d bring home after a long day outside, more than what it can actually do to me.
Just last night, the Department of Health confirmed one of the hospitals in Pasay as having admitted a “person under observation” of the disease. It may not be a confirmed case yet (still no nCov case in the Philippines as of this writing) but it’s alarming, nonetheless. Remember that the virus has an incubation period, so with bated breaths, we wait.
***
Then there’s some who just enjoy bringing people down. I call it habitual skeptics, people who would oppose something because they thrive on angry responses.
I have this FB friend who expressed his irritation at how suddenly people became Kobe fans after his death, suggesting most are mere bandwagoners. Whether this is true or not, we don’t need such negativity anymore so why can’t he just let other people be? Besides, one doesn’t have to be a fan to mourn or feel bad over the death of some celebrity.
(Would you believe that people on the internet are fighting over the right way of wearing a surgical mask?)
Seriously, we don’t need this anymore.
***
Thankfully, the month is about to end, and I have to admit that I can’t wait to tear January off the 2020 calendar. With fingers crossed, I pray things will get better not just for myself, but for everybody. We might have experienced a rough start but let us not lose hope in the fact that after the bad comes the good.
I guess we should just have to keep the faith.
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