Warning: this post contains content regarding sexual harassment/assault that can be triggering. Please proceed with caution and take any space you need.
Every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. On average, there are 433,648 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States (data taken from rainn.org). The most disturbing thing about these stats? These are just the people who have come forward. If every single person reported every instance of sexual assault in her/his lifetime, these numbers would skyrocket.
Just when we think we’ve seen it all by 2020, COVID-19 is here to show us otherwise. While many of us starting self-quarantining last week, NJ state government has stepped in and mandated it as of today – and I have a feeling things are only going to get more stringent going forward.
I generally consider myself an introvert, but this situation has taught me that I only enjoy being one on my own terms. Not when I’m forced to be alone. Greg and his roommate, Dan, are the only people I’ve seen in the last week, and I’m definitely feeling the lack of human interaction at this point.
My emotions have been all over the place, as I’m sure a lot of yours have been. I was originally one of the people who thought everyone was being a bit dramatic about everything – but then things rapidly (and scarily) advanced. The most frightening part of this all is that we’ve never experienced anything like this before. We don’t know what to expect – and as a result, we feel a serious lack of control.
To add to this, quite literally every platform possible is providing updates about either the rate of spread or number of deaths multiple times a day. It’s a lot, and I’m starting to feel suffocated. I don’t know about you all, but I had a super hard time focusing “at work” this entire week. Things just feel so… off.
While I had my initial hesitations, I can now say I have zero regrets about getting a second cat for Milo. He has lost weight since Sunny’s arrival, his energy is up, and he is back to being a frisky, wild thing. It’s like having a kitten again… x2. The two of them have become the best of friends – they eat together, they play together, they fight together, and sleep together. They are two peas in a pod, and it truly warms my heart.
I have been a lover of cats for as long as I remember. Pretty much any birthday card I received from family had a cat on it, and it was rare that I wasn’t with my family cat growing up. My first screen name was catluver189, and I even had a cat encyclopedia…I was a crazy cat lady before I knew the term even existed.
Now more than ever, it is imperative that we be conscious of the daily decisions we make and how they affect the world we live in. The environment is practically begging us to stop and change. Being mindful of the waste we create, the brands we choose, and the values we uphold not only benefits the environment, but it benefits everyone as a whole. Simply put, doing good, feels good!
Usually I would try and have a more original blog title, but I wanted to give you all a true update on my life since my I Decided. post. That post was a tipping point for me – it was my ‘I’ve had enough’ moment. And from that post came a domino affect that has only improved my life. It’s a particularly tough post for me to read, because it brings me right back to the painful day I wrote it. And things weren’t necessarily all sunshine and rainbows afterwards, either. That being said, my life has done a rapid 180. This is the utmost proof that you need to speak the things you want into existence in order for them to happen.
It is quite ironic that the thing that makes me feel the best is something I put off for so long when I am going through a rut. Oh, how I have missed blogging. It’s been a while since I have posted, and the lack of a creative outlet has definitely hurt me more than it has helped me. About once a year or so, I write a blog post about mental health and my personal struggles. This is unplanned, but it always seems to work out that way.
Loss is one of those things that no matter how many times you experience it, it will always hurt as much as it did the first time. Loss is nothing new to me, and I’m well aware that it will only continue to enter my life as I age. The toughest thing about loss is that everybody handles it differently, and this makes it especially hard to comfort others in these trying times. We’ve all had different experiences, and we all grieve differently. There is no right or wrong way to handle the loss of a loved one.
Ah, social media – our best friend and our worst enemy. I’ve always (obviously) been a proponent of social media and have made a point of arguing that the good outweighs the bad, but lately, I just can’t stand behind that argument anymore. I’ve been noticing annoyance as my biggest emotion after opening an app, and that’s something I want to remove from my life at the current moment.
Welcome back! Between switching departments at work, computer issues, and addressing my mental health, my blogging has (unfortunately) gone on the back burner. After spending a ton of time this holiday weekend with other people, I decided now would be a good opportunity to give some time to myself.
