If you told me at the beginning of this year, that a worldwide pandemic would flip life in the U.S. upside down, I would have told you that you are watching too many sci-fi movies. And yet we find ourselves in May of this momentous year, feeling upside down and not ourselves after all of the cancelled graduations, wedding, birthdays, trips, and most importantly—the unfortunate and painful loss that many in our very own families have had to endure.
During this time, we have all been forced to retract more than we normally do. I think the blessing in this has been the time to look in the mirror, or outward—whichever way you choose. Having always been a very observant person, I sometimes lurk in my own silence as I watch things unfold around me. In addition to the pain and trauma that I’ve seen, I also cannot shy away from mentioning the things that have helped bring light to an awful time. Many of our very own Sisters have found their own ways to show their love during a time when all positivity is welcomed.
Some stories that come to mind are:
Tiffany from our Kean University Delta Quanyx Chapter serves as a virtual doula and consultant. With the healthcare space not being a place that makes us feel entirely too safe or warm during this pandemic, Tiffany saw the need for her services amplified—even offering complimentary consulting and services. I was even able to connect Tiffany with a personal friend of mine who is expecting, who truly appreciated the connection.
I loved that our Sister Lizeth, owner of El Gordo Restaurant put her head together with some friends to feed frontline workers out of her business during the beginning of the quarantine. Talk about using your talents to make others feel appreciated.
Our NYC Alumnae Chapter, our empire mermaids, put together an effort to provide care packages for our own Sisters on the front line—as we have many Sisters in the fields of healthcare, nursing and social services. Seeing Sisters open their care packages and share their excitement via social media definitely brightened up some of our days.
At a time when everyone is looking to monetize off of making face masks (I’m not knocking the hustle), our Feline Iota Chapter teamed up with Little Print Shop Boutique to donate medical masks/ ear savers to anyone in need of one.
These are just some of the ways in which our Sisters mobilized to bring some light to each other and others during chaos. What also made me smile, were the independently organized gatherings to share valuable information, and the Zoom parties happening among lines and Sisters. I got to catch up with Sisters over video that I haven’t seen or hugged in years—yet our conversations were just as spirited and fun.
Throughout this, what I think we must acknowledge is that it should not take a pandemic to bring us closer together. And it should not take a pandemic to make us think about what we can offer to bring light to others. As womyn with the ideals of unity, knowledge and dedication, my hope is that we’ll emerge as after this pandemic with continued resilience, passion for service and justice, and above all Sisterhood.
It would be unfair to expect that everyone have the bandwidth to be an activist or productive during a global pandemic. However, whether you are passionate about children, womyn’s rights, health, social justice reform, workers’ rights or another area, I encourage you to use this time of reflection to dream up your vision for how you can bring light to the community around you.
