This pandemic forced me to look directly into the eyes of death, of possibly my own or of my loved ones. On April 4th, the day in China to pay annual tribute to ancestors, I started writing down my thoughts about past and present to publish every other day. I felt the urge to do things that I had wanted to but had put off. My three teenage kids started asking me about hardships that I had incurred in life, as they for the first time ponder the possibility in their lives. I spent more time caring for my mom who had a hip replacement surgery in February and is still in the months long recovery. My husband stopped all business travels and we are having daily walks in our neighborhood. The pandemic drove our family closer physically and emotionally. Online especially through Zoom, I’m connected to larger communities and working on making our voice heard. I’m reading and writing more, and feel the pandemic will shape the near future to be more reactive and reflective for the general global public.

[submitted on 5/11/2020]