I could start this blog by jumping right into COVID-19 talk and how it affects me, but who exactly am I? Well for starters, my name is Jordan Redding and I'm a 20 year old junior at the University of Kentucky. Typically, people look forward to their junior year of college because they usually turn 21, are half way done with undergrad, and can call themselves upperclassmen. So what am I supposed to look forward to this year? I can't go out to bars and party on my 21st birthday...I'm halfway done with undergrad but it feels like I'm starting something brand new...but why is this year so different? This pandemic has thrown everyone into a whirlwind of change that no one was ready for.
I've given you a slight glimpse as to who I am, but here's another: I'm an African American female. Now if we're being technical, I'm a lot more than just black, but to the bare eye no one would know that. Unless it's the middle of July and my skin is glowing from the deep brown rich tan I have and my natural curly hair is blowing through the wind. This might not seem like it makes a huge difference but I'll explain why it does. Picture this: a man who is Cuban, Dominican, Filipino, and West Indian marries a woman who is black and Irish. They have a daughter who has a child with a man who is black. That child is me. People often wonder why I don't tan like "the average black girl" or why my hair texture isn't as kinky as other black girls when I identify as black and this is why. I absolutely love my heritage and if you were ever around my family, you'd quickly see that. But off of looks you'd think I'm just an African American young woman. Biology has a weird way of expressing traits you inherit from your parents now doesn't it?
So now that that's covered, let's take a deeper dive into who I am. Here we go: I come from a middle class family from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. I've lived a pretty comfortable life: got a brand new car before my 16th birthday, always lived in a nice house, holidays are filled with love and joy. Thankfully, I have never had to deal with any hardships, until I woke up one day living in a global pandemic.
My family consists mostly of engineers and nurses, so from the nurses in my family (who risk their lives everyday) I've gotten a pretty good outlook on how this COVID-19 thing was affecting areas around me. Personally, I'd say this pandemic has been less of burden on my family than others. This is because both of my parents are essential workers so they thankfully never stopped working. The first way COVID-19 affected me was when all restaurants closed down and I was unable to work or find a job. This was really hard for me because I've worked since I was 15, so I could only imagine what other's were going through as this was a minor loss on a much bigger scale. Although COVID-19 is everywhere, the closest it came to me was when my cousin, who's a nurse, tested positive. Thankfully she recovered and is doing well, but it was frightening knowing she could've been much worse. The biggest impact COVID-19 has had on me is really just limiting things I do on a daily basis, such as going to stores and eating out at restaurants, as well as being in school online.
Now that introductions are over, I hope you have a good picture of who I am so that as you read this blog you can try to read it through my eyes. It will give you a first hand look into the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects it has on everyday life including my personal life as well. I hope you enjoy!
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