May 31, 2020
As of late June, British Columbia entered into phase 3 of its COVID-19 restart plan. While British Columbians continue to operate with care and caution, restaurants and cafes are getting busier again, and people are starting to think about making travel plans within the province.
On the last day of May, I called up Sophia, who also lives here in BC. End of May was a time when news headlines were transitioning from reflecting one crisis to another. The former, the coronavirus pandemic, far from over; and the latter, the crisis of racial injustice, demanding long-overdue changes.
Sophia is an uplifting soul. I enjoyed getting to catch up with Sophia, and I left feeling optimistic for positive change. Then later that night, I watched in horror the conflicts that erupted between protesters and law enforcement in cities across America. It was a night of grief and anger. It turned out to be a night of ample confusion, also, with conflicting narratives flooding all channels of communication.
For weeks that followed, I watched the world react and respond. Admittedly, it took me a while to travel back to the moment in which I was just starting to feel optimistic about the first crisis, and this lovely conversation I had with Sophia. But I think conversations that remind us of kindness and hope are all the more important in difficult times, and when division seems to drown out dialogue.
With that, let me take you back to the last day of May.
SOPHIA THOMSON
“My name is Sophia Thomson. I’m calling from my house in North Vancouver. I’ve lived here most of my life, but I’ve spent two years living in Winnipeg. And I go to UBC.”
Sophia and I met in a Creative Writing class. We happened to sit at the same table on the first day with another girl whose name I don’t recall, who promptly decided to drop the course and left the room within the first few minutes. I’m glad Sophia didn’t.
Being a student during a pandemic
This March, Sophia, like many university students, experienced an abrupt transition to virtual learning, as the country went into full crisis mode seemingly overnight.
“Initially, I didn’t think we would go online. It felt very far away, the virus. And I couldn’t imagine a world where UBC would shut down, and the whole world, too.
And then, all of a sudden being at home, not being at school and not seeing friends, that was pretty weird. But instead of commuting, I got to just hang out in my bed and contribute [to online learning] where I could.
It was hard, though. Getting motivation to do schoolwork and being present in an element that you’re not actually there for was so weird, and I was very, very happy when April ended and exams finished.”
Staying in and staying safe
“In terms of life, it’s been weird, once again. Changing your routine, changing your schedule and just being at home. I haven’t been to any stores since this started. I live with my parents, and we’ve been ordering from food delivery services to get groceries. Recently, my dad started going out to get groceries as some regulations have lifted, but for the most part we are social distancing and staying safe.
I’ve been doing a lot of home workouts, and going on walks. I have the forest nearby, so I’ve done some social-distanced walks with some friends, and we just stay across from each other pretty much like ten feet apart at all times. I can pretty much find places where no one would be, because it’s not extremely busy here in North Van all the time.
Our regulations have been, I wouldn’t say relaxed, but a lot easier on everyone than in places where they had a complete lockdown. I cannot imagine not being able to go for a walk, at least.”
“It’s so strange, the world we’re living in right now. If someone told me a year ago that you’re just going to have to hang out in your home… and watch Netflix and eat any junk food you can find at home, and that’s it, I would have said that sounds really nice!”
Sophia looks forward to being able to see people again, and traveling. “And hugging people. I miss hugs!”
I do miss the hugs, too. We truly seem to take the most important things for granted.
Creative writing student
Amid this strange season, good news arrived for Sophia. She got into a major in Creative Writing.
“I got in, which was shocking, exciting, and kind of scary. But I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be kind of hard to adjust to doing it online, because it’s workshop-based. That will be interesting.
Throughout the two years at UBC, I had the most fun in any Creative Writing course that I took. When you are in a place where you get to write what you want and meet people who are excited about the same things, it’s so fun. So I’m excited to meet these people… some day.
And I’m excited to write more. I read so much but I don’t do much writing, which seems counterintuitive being in a writing program. But I guess it’ll challenge me to write.
My dream job growing up was that I wanted to be the person who reads a book and gets to pitch it to someone. I just wanted to read, and I love movies, and I thought that would be so cool. I don’t even know if this is a job. If it is, I need to find it!”
A light romance to escape into
Sophia has been journaling regularly through this season, and finds it to be a good way to release stress. She’s also just started plotting some ideas for a potential novel.
“It’s going to be a romance. I think it will be a light read. I feel like the world is so heavy right now that it’s nice to be able to escape. Whenever I read, it’s because I get to escape life for a little bit and live in someone else’s. If I can help anyone live in a character’s world for a little bit, I think that’ll be really great. Hopefully, the world will be doing a little better by the time it’s written. I don’t anticipate finishing it anytime soon!
I think part of the process is just getting it down and not telling yourself that it sucks at every word. You can always go back and fix it, but if you don’t write something, there won’t be anything to fix.”
Books are a godsend
Sophia is a fan of romance fiction herself, and a voracious reader across genres.
“I read literally all romance because it’s fun. I just read a really good one called Beach Read by Emily Henry.
My favourite novel is November 9 by Colleen Hoover. It’s so good. I love Colleen Hoover! I also enjoyed the Slammed Series and Maybe Someday by her.
I like fantasy, too. I really like The Luna Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. The first book is called Cinder, and it’s a futuristic Cinderella story. She’s half-cyborg and she’s like I don’t need no prince! Each book of the series is based on a different fairy tale.
Because I am broke, I read lots of free or the $1.99 books on iBooks. They’re not always the best, but we suffer through. And I read a lot of Kindle Unlimited books, some of which are very, very great. I used to spend over $30-50 a week on books, and that is not manageable!”
Sophia and I agree that books are a godsend. Thank goodness for books right now.
Hopes for 2020
“I want everyone to be kind to one another, get educated, help where you can, and be safe overall.
I’ve been feeling that 2020 has been almost one big waste of time. And in recent days I’m just hoping that 2020 will be worth something, and that change will come. I’m hopeful, despite that everything has been heartbreaking lately.
I’m holding onto the hope that humans are smart, and we can be generous and kind to one another. Because if we were so bad, why do we still have all the beautiful things that life has to offer to us?
With time, I think we can get there, but it’s not easy.”
Ps. “Oh, one last book suggestion that is not a romance. The Martian. Read it, watch it. It’s awesome.”
