Taking the First Step

It has been four months since the first lockdown in Manila. With that, I've yet to have my hair cut until today. After weeks of debating with myself regarding whether or not I should have my hair cut, I finally decided to do it today.

With the new normal due to the pandemic, it'd be very surprising to still see barbershop scenarios like these. (From Facebook.com)

It wasn't easy. Since I was a kid, I wanted a longer hairstyle, one that I could slip onto the back of my ears, one that could hide my ears. School regulations didn't allow me to try having that. So when I graduated, I saw that as a chance to sport that long hairstyle, except that I had lost my silky smooth straight hair I used to have when I was a kid. Also, the Coronavirus scare was not ready to leave us yet.

My curly wavy hairstyle got me through my licensure exam last year. Now, it got me through the first four months of the Coronavirus lockdown. 

Not like last year, I was motivated and eager to do what I had to do because I knew I wouldn't ace my licensure exam without doing the essentials.

However, things were different during the past four months. I procrastinated and used the pandemic era as a reason to not strive the same. way I did last year. I was neglecting my side hustles, my writing, and further development in my profession.

For some reason, I thought that cutting my hair would be the first step in beating down this procrastinating season I've been having. Cutting my hair would mean I would no longer be accepting mediocrity in my outside appearance. Lousy hairstyles sometimes could reflect a lousy lifestyle in any aspect. 

Just as I am now back on track with my hair, I hope to also be back on track with regards to my eagerness and drive for further improvement in my professional career, passion, and character. 

It's a work in progress, but it will never start without taking that first step.

Canceled Era

This year has not been going smoothly ever since it took off from where the previous year left.

There have been numerous calamities, whether caused by man or by multiple forces of nature. As of writing, a lot has changed with the way most inhabitants of this world live since I last posted here.

However, it was not until March when the larger portion of my country started taking things seriously. Among other dilemmas that this year has faced so far, it has been the Coronavirus pandemic that has impacted the countrywide enough that every single thing has been canceled or on lockdown. 

Events and gatherings that would require physical human contact had been canceled. No more concert tours from our favorite artists. No more movie screenings in theaters. Bond 25, No Time To Die, was postponed again at a later date (November 2020). The NBA season was canceled along with other sporting events scheduled in 2020. All forms of entertainment, recreation, and cultural activities were either canceled or postponed to a later date. Even schools and most works were also stopped due to the outbreak. 

We really are now in the "Canceled Era". This is a term that has been surfacing social networking sites referring to people who are being judged and canceled by other people due to their actions, beliefs, culture, among other criteria that social media jurors are looking at. However, the big change here is that in this "Cancelled Era", the one being canceled is the life we used to live. Basically, everything that you had planned to do in 2020 when you were having New Year wishes back in 2019 would have to be postponed to 2021, or by the end of the year if we'd be all lucky and blessed. 

It's said that every single day, at least 17 million people celebrate his or her birthday.  With over a hundred days done for this year, that would have to be a lot of celebrants who had wished for this thing to be stopped and be controlled finally.

If I could, and if it does matter, I would give 10 of my future birthday wishes just to give this Coronavirus a blasting send-off, one that would make it rethink about ever coming back in the next century.

But in reality, well-wishers don't really do much aside from boosting the morale of those who actually do the significant things. These are the frontliners who risk their lives trying to save and help save everyone in whatever way they are willing to do. If not for them, we'd all be just added figures to this virus' death toll. THANK YOU!

In line with that, well-wishers (that's us who are not actually doing frontliner duties) could still helpand actually contribute to the send off the frontliners have been setting up for this virus. 

How?

A famous line I've heard for a number of times goes like this, "If you cannot find a solution, make yourself the solution." But I want to change it up a bit to this: If you cannot be a part of the solution, do not be a part of the problem.

We should try our very best to be not part of the problem that the frontliners have already been facing. The problem has been overwhelming for them to handle and it would not help them one bit if we would still be loitering around, or not doing the safety precautions that trusted health experts have laid out to the general public.

It would be best to stay informed regarding the developments made in the battle against the virus because the battle would never go according to plan if there would be misinformation present.

Stay updated. 
Stay at home. 
Stay healthy and safe!