Through the year, I’ve been thinking about my home, safety, unrest, what I would do if someone broke in at night. I hadn’t shot or owned a gun in over 20 years but went to a concealed carry course the other day and am looking for a gun to put in a safe place in the house only I can access in case the worst happens.

Well, I witness how we all came together as a community and help each other get through these difficult times. I am forever grateful and i am so thankful and happy to be apart of this amazing community.

well I really don’t know where to start. In March I was laid off do to corona… totally devastated. My son and I were in a world of trouble. In May I found out had cancerous cells on my cervix, also had a special procedure to stop the growth (painful), also in May I suffered 2nd degree burns in my back. In June I suffered a stroke,and it affected my right side slightly. Neurologist suggested I shouldn’t drive until further notice. While in the pandemic and me being in the hospital, my son who suffers from mental illness, attempted suicide again (was baker act once). July and August after many different tests and scans doctors found spots on my brain. I started losing my faith and hope. I was scared to go to the doctor for follow ups. September went in for a routine check up ,doc found a spot on my body… he began treatment with different meds and creams, in which none worked. We(doc&I) decided surgery would be better for me to get rid of this aggravating and oozing spot. I ended up having surgery late October. When the results came back it was skin cancer. It’s called Squamous carcinoma. By the grace of God doc was able to remove it all during surgery. In November I was diagnosed with Neuropathy in both legs. Now that were in December I pray daily that whenever I go to my specialist and neurologist that all test from here on out are NEGATIVE… I never in a million years imagined that things like I explained in the message would actually happen to me. It’s been difficult but I make it look sweet for the sake of my son. I live off of $140 . God is still Good and I still have faith… I know for a fact that he’ll make a way out of no way P.S…. I don’t want pity from anyone God has given me all these tests for my testimony. I could use some help. If I’m not chosen ,I pray the family that is appreciates it. Thank you for your listening ears.

When Covid-19 was first being pushed into the American news stream in March 2020 I was a sophomore in high school getting ready for spring break with my friends. Around this time people’s emotions were very mixed, some of us were freaking out 2020 had already been so chaotic (We had a World War 3 scare, several celebrities had died, storms were hitting, etc.). Some of us weren’t all that concerned especially us Floridians. Every year we get storm scares and the like, overtime we’ve adapted so that most of the time it’s hard for the mainstream news to faze us, after all if we let that happen we’d be freaked out all the time. We thought: “This is just another thing they’re trying to worry us about” Let’s not forget that our election for U.S. president was coming up this year and candidates were already dropping out like flies, this was just adding onto the election frenzy. “It’s just another Flu” “It’ll be gone by summer” “It only really hurts babies and elderly people.” These are all things we told ourselves. These are all things we were wrong about. Young healthy people, college students, newly weds still in their honeymoon stage, new mothers, this virus did not discriminate. People were being wiped out! It wasn’t just the virus’ mass devastation that caused this pandemic to become an era for the history books though, people’s behavior in these times will be talked about for years to come. I hope future generations get a laugh out of reading about “The Toilet Paper Mania” for some reason people rushed into any store they could find, thousands of shoppers found themselves fighting over TOILET PAPER! As if that could stop the virus somehow. As chaotic s that was it still feels like 7 years ago rather than 7 months simply because of everything else that’s happened since then. The killing of several black people by police officers causeda resurgence in the black lives matter movement which led to months of protests in which the police fully militarized against people singing in the streets. There were also riots in which people looted local Targets which funded their city’s police department and regularly denied service to black customers. (It’s laughable, even Target is the enemy now). Looking online these days its rare to see a Twitter handle or Instagram bio without BLM or ACAB (which means all cops are bastardized) in it. Does anyone even remember the murder hornets? Or when President Trump basically called now presidential-elect Biden’s son a crackhead on national television? Or when hordes of celebrities got on their cellphones and recorded themselves naked and singing in order to “lift our spirits” during quarantine. 2020 has been an interesting year to say the least. There were some days when we had to collectively grieve together like when beloved actor Chadwick Boseman of “Black Panther”, “Thurgood”, “42” and “Get on Up” fame tragically passed away, and there were days when we all virtually laughed with and enjoyed each other’s company like in the online “Versuz” competitions between our favorite musical artists. In summary, we’ve gone through a lot in 2020 but at least students of the future won’t be bored when it gets to our chapter of humanity’s story.

When corona first started i had to start working 1 day a week because my store was slow, the only reason i was able to provide for me and my kids was because of my boyfriend lyfe , but on October 10, 2020 he was shot and killed , the person who killed him didn’t know lyfe it was wrong place wrong time , its been almost 2 months since then and now day by day i have to struggle to put food on the table for my kids or how im going to pay the bills . Before lyfe died i never had to pay a bill before . I got more hours at my job now but i’ve been looking for a second job but its really hard getting hired because of corona . The only thing i fear now is my kids thinking im a bad person because i can’t provide for them like how i use to.

COVID 19 has made an impact on me and my family. We’ve been struggling to keep up with our bills and provide for my family and I. My hours at work have been cut back due to COVID and I don’t get paid as much as I did before COVID. So trying to provide everything for my family is kinda hard.