terrorism stamped with white privilege ft. capitol hill chaos

BLM is fighting and protesting for an actual cause. It’s fighting for basic human rights, lives, equality, and respect. People came together with fire in their voices and their soul. They came together with passion, pain, love in order to set things right. What was the response?? Tear gas, military set up, shootings, unlawful arrests and protesters being labelled “savages” and “thugs”.

Now, the same people who carry the blue lives matter flag (which isn’t even a thing), the same people who cry out about the burning buildings, are seen pepper-spraying, flipping off, fighting cops, and breaking into Capitol Hill. These white supremacists raided the Capitol building, waving nazi flags, waving confederate flags (which symbolizes the exclusion of POC and their enslavement), breaking windows, and just being chaotic. And, for what? FOR WHAT? They can’t accept the democratic conclusion, the election. They are fighting with hatred. The response was being called “great patriots who have been unfairly treated,”, being walked down by hand, and selfies. This was no protest, this was no riot, this was a domestic terrorist attack. Terrorism stamped with white privilege.

We know that if it were a BLM protest, that day would have gone so much differently. It can’t be any more clear that it was never about being pro-police but anti-black, it wasn’t about the burning buildings but blatant racism, and it wasn’t how you would react around the police but who are you are, how you look, and your skin color. No justice, no peace. This isn’t over.

On Covid-19

A new norm. That’s what we’re faced with. It’s crazy what’s been happening.

As of July 22, 2020, worldwide:

Cases: 15,314,719

Deaths: 624,538

Recovered: 9,243,230

We are always learning new things that come and so maybe by the time that you come across this, numbers and accuracy of the current information I’m sharing may have changed. My heart goes out to everybody going through this time. 

The virus was originally detected in Wuhan, China.

Beginning Timeline:

December 31, 2019:

world health organization gets alerted

Although the World Health Organization (aka WHO) was alerted about a flu-like cases in Wuhan on December 31, 2019 (just before the new year was about to happen), no action was taken because back then they didn’t suspect it to be that severe yet.

January 11, 2020:

first death in Wuhan, China

The first death report: a 61-year-old man on January 1st who checked himself in the hospital on December 27 because suspected of the flu.

January 13, 2020:

confirmed case in Thailand

The first confirmed case outside of china was known to be in Thailand. 

January 17, 2020:

second death in Wuhan, China and another case in Thailand

The second death reported in Wuhan of a 69-year-old man. Another case in Thailand is reported, a 74-year-old woman.

January 21, 2020:

first case in the US, more confirmed cases show up, china reports more deaths and cases rise

A man, in his 30s, who traveled back to the US from China, is confirmed the first Coronavirus case in the US, Washington state. Hong kong (person in their 30s) along with Taiwan (woman in 50s) confirms first cases. China confirms two more deaths (a 66 year old man and 48 year old woman). By this time, there was about 300 confirmed cases in China.   

January 23, 2020:

transportation shut down

Steps are being taken to try and stop the spread of the virus. Wuhan announces the shut down of all transportation. Take note that Wuhan is home to 11 million people. Beijing cancelled fairs and large gatherings. Singapore has its first confirmed case.

Fast forward to today:

There are 213 countries affected by Covid-19. Millions of confirmed cases. Hundreds of thousands of lives taken. 

There is currently no vaccine yet. However, they are working on making one. 

Events (like Coachella, TED, NBA, GDC, Shopify, and more) have been cancelled. Tourism has taken a big hit.

Countries and cities have gone into lockdown. Some example of places that have undergone lockdown would be: Beijing, Italy, Leicester, Manila, Iran, Germany, and more.

Schools have closed.

Cruise ships gets headlines as they go through quarantine.

Groceries had to put limits on the quantities on food that could be bought per family. 

The economy takes a hit.

Millions of people have lost their jobs. 

However a lot of places are slowly starting to reopen and lift restrictions. Some places have even opened up their schools. The result of this have been mixed as some have gotten their number of cases spike up again. 

What should we be doing?

Let’s look at the health strategy that’s been going around, A.K.A Flattening the Curve.

What the heck does that mean?:

Before learning how to do this flattening thing, let’s first learn what the curve actually is. First off, the number of cases shown when flattening the curve refers to a projected number of people who will get covid over a period of time, not the actual amount of people who have it currently. In a chart, this curve we’re talking about, actually it’s two curves, are shown. One of them shows the spread of the virus with protective measures and steps taken to slow it down (we’ll get more into these details in a little bit), whereas the other curve shows the virus spread without protective measures. Although the number of cases are the same for both curves, the difference is that one of them (the curve that took the extra measures) has a more gradual rise of cases rather than just a huge spike of people getting Covid infections in a short span of time.

Why is this important?: 

There’s only so much that the medical equipment and the health-care system can take at a time. Without any measures to slow the spread of infection, there would be overwhelmingly amount of cases that wouldn’t allow the health care system to properly give people better access to care, hospital beds, ventilators and treatments. 

Here’s an example:

We have a city called ABC (real creative there- okay, not the point) and in this city there are about 100+ people and 10 front-liners (the doctor and nurses in this case). For simplicity sake, we’ll say that there is only one hospital in the city and there are currently traveling restrictions in place, preventing people from leaving the city. The number of people who will contract the virus is projected to be 100 in a span of about 5 months. If no actions were taken to prevent the fast spread, there could be 100 people going to the hospital in the span of two months, making it the biggest struggle for only 10 doctors and nurses to cope with the few supplies and vital medical they have in such a short period time. However, if health and safety measures were to be implemented and followed, basically how it would be if we worked to flatten the curve, then we could try and lower the amount of patients checking in and being treated at the hospital during a five month period and that would help the health system cope and increase the quality of treatment per patient. So instead of having the challenge of 100 patients at once (or in a span of two months) in a hospital with limited medical equipment and 10 people on the job (that’s about 10 patients per doctor or so), it could be like 20 patients per month for the next 5 months (that would be about 2 patients per doctor) allowing the operation of helping these patient recover to run more smoothly. 

How exactly do we flatten the curve then?

Okay, okay so we’ve covered the importance of flattening the curve. The next thing I want to talk about are steps that can help in flattening the curve. Let’s do this. Our collective actions will make a difference and it does matter. Here are some things that could do for your social responsibility:

Although you might have heard of these already, these are important to remember to do, they go a long way. 

quick note to remember: The main way that Covid-19 is transmitted to others are through droplets coming from an infected person. When a person exhales, speaks, coughs, or sneezes, there are small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth that are expelled to their surrounding. If you are too close to a person with Covid-19, you could inhale the the droplets.

• Social Distance!! 

Try maintaining at least 1 meter (aka 3 feet) from other people. It’s better to be safe and take extra precaution when you’re out! Keeping a distance will be better for you so that you don’t inhale the droplets that someone with Covid might have exhaled out. 

• Avoid touching your face

Another way that someone can contract the virus is through touching a surface that someone who has the virus has touched and then touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. These are easy ways and paths that the virus can enter the body. The average person touches their face a few times per hour. Sometimes we don’t notice we touch our faces, but it’s a habit we need to break! Keep the hands away from the face peeps.  

• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing

Change starts with you! You amazing human being. While we’re breaking away from the habit of touching our face, we’ve got to work on the habit to cover your nose and mouth (use your bent elbow or tissue) when you sneeze or cough! Remember, droplets spread the virus.

• Wear mask when you are out

WEAR. A. MASK. You might not be used to it but it is empirical that you do so. They can prevent those huge droplets from someone who has Covid-19 from spreading with a mask. Make sure that mask covers the nose and mouth. Wear a mask please. 

• If you have the privilege of staying home, stay home!

Yes, it’s a struggle. Plans have been cancelled and you can barely see any of your friends at the moment. It’s only natural that we want to run and hug all the peeps that we miss in our lives. And, yes, it can get boring at home. However, it’s critical to maintain our distance while we let the numbers stop rising and flatten the curve. There are nurses and doctors who have to work hours on end and who can’t even go home to their families, stay home if you can stay home please! Avoid crowds and large gatherings.

• Wash your hands often

Wash your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water as often as possible, especially when you’ve been out or touched surfaces that could have been contaminated, after using the toilet, after coughing or sneezing, and before eating. Hygiene is very, very important! 

• Call for help

If you’re not feeling well, reach out and call professional help. A great place to start would be your local health worker.

but I’m young…

Covid is very real and it’s not yet over. It’s true, people who are 60+ years or with an underlying health condition or in a state that comprises or affects their immune system have a higher risk. Yes, your immunity might be strong and maybe you got this thought that you probably wouldn’t catch anyway. Or, if you did, you’d be able to recover fairly well. But, that’s not the point. How about the people that you come in contact with. Your parents, grandparents, and even your friends. Although you might be strong, how about them? You might have Covid but be asymptomatic (you don’t show any symptoms) and spread it to people without even knowing. It’s important to understand that this is so much bigger than it may seem. And, what you decide to do is important. So, if you have the option to stay home, please stay home. And, when you do go out remember to flatten the curve and wear a mask, social distance, wash hands frequently, and always take extra precaution! Thank you guys 🙂 

Don’t panic and be alert. I know it’s easy to fall into this feeling of fear and panic, but now more than ever is important to calm. Your mental health is super important. Being in a worried state can also compromise your immune system, your fighting engine. Call a friend, take a bath, find something that works for you to stay happy and healthy.

THANK YOU:

Before ending this, I want to give huuuugggeee thank youu to all the essential frontline workers. True, hardworking heroes. Despite the hardship and the health risks that they have to endure, they choose to continue to do help and fight. To all the front-liners around the world, thank you! THANK YOU to the medical professionals. THANK YOU to the restaurant workers. THANK YOU to the sanitation workers. THANK YOU to the farmers. THANK YOU to the delivery peeps. THANK YOU to the grocery clerks. THANK YOU to the truck drivers. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU all heroes. ❤

love yall!

Yours truly,

L.O.A.S.H

---

© Elizabeth Anne Villoria

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.O.A.S.H’S GUIDE TO GETTING YOUR LIFE TOGETHER: GOAL SETTING 📅

Quote of (true) AWESOMENESS: “If you set goals and go after them will all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you.” – Les Brown

Hope your holidays are going well!

Goal setting is essential when you are building your path to the creation of your awesome new life. We all try to set goals here and there but sometimes we don’t properly know how or what exactly to write down. Then, we often end up not executing any of it. We need to break this vicious cycle. You with me? Great. Let’s do it.

This blog, if you aren’t yet aware, is going to be your guide to create your game plan, sprinkled with awesomeness. Yup, basically, that’s it.

First things first, to make a clearer image of what you are exactly planning for, here is a list of some of the areas of your life in which you may want to improve in and grow:

• Education
• Career 
• Home Life
• Financial 
• Social Life
• Community
• Spiritual 
• Health

Use this list as your guide. Once you have your goals for these areas in your life, it’s a good idea to break them into the next week, next month, end of the year, the next 2 years, and even in the next 5 years. Before organizing it further, just jot down all the goals that pop into your mind at first that you want to accomplish. It might be a bit messy but it’s okay just keep writing everything first. 

Once you complete jotting down everything, rewrite each of your goals but this time add a specific time frame and details of the goal. Here’s an example:

• You’d start with something like a vague goal, saying: Get a good education
• Then you’d change it into a better goal, saying: Graduate (with a specific degree) in (a specific course in college), with honors by 2028

Take a breath, you’re doing amazing!

Here are the ways you can separate your goals by the time:

Short term goals: accomplishments done in less than a year

Midterm goals: accomplishments done in 1-5 years

Long-term goals: accomplishments done in 5-10 years

Remember: Time frames are very important

OKAY, now that you’ve gotten your goals written down and organized with its time frame and extra details, the work is not yet done! You need to always remember to check in regularly with yourself. Reflect on your goals. Check in with your feelings and values. Ask yourself, “Do these goals align with your passions?”.

When you are faced with an obstacle, take a step back, process everything, and then plan the next steps to take. Don’t linger on with your solutions. When you find what you are going to do, take action immediately. Make the changes right then and there. Make sure to rewrite goals in order for it to align with your deeds.

ＩＭＰＯＲＴＡＮＴ: time management

Fortunately, I have a whole blog dedicated to guiding you to kick ass and help you with time management. Yay!!! 

As you are on your journey remember that you should focus on what matters. Focus on your values and on the outcomes. Do less. Buy less. Slow Down. Handle it now, stop waiting for the perfect time, place, or saying next time. Remember people. 

It’s soon to be New Years! New beginnings! You got this.

 

 

– You are a badass –

Yours truly,

L.O.A.S.H

---

© Elizabeth Anne Villoria

 

 

 

 

 

–