My name is Victor Karuga, a BAKE member who likes to read and to write a little. Like most people, COVID has had a mostly negative impact on my life. Loss of income, mobility and the uncertainty that surrounds this period has been unprecedented. Personally, I had to move out and go back home to save on the associated costs of living on my own.  This was the hardest decision I have had to make in a while, but it was a necessary one and had to be made. 

On the flip side, I have realized that I needed to do LOT more to achieve what my intended goals were. I feel like I was in a comfort zone and I wouldn’t have made efforts to figure things out were it not for traditional sources of income drying up and forcing my hand in alternative sources.  I have done two courses over the COVID period (The online course by BAKE and a film program by the KCB Foundation), and with extended periods of alone time, I have had the opportunity to go over the coursework away from the constant activity that surrounded ‘normal’ life. 

Socially, being away from friends has had me reevaluate my relationships, and what they mean to me. I have had to learn to be a better friend and to demand the same from my friends. In a way, however, I am saddened that it took a pandemic for me to change my MO, and that most likely I’d be stuck in my old ways. 

Overall, I have read a lot more books, watched a lot more content and had a lot more time to figure out what I want with my life, and the steps I need to make to get there. Would I change anything about the pandemic?  Yes, I wish it didn’t last as long and take lives, but we have to deal with what we are facing. Hopefully, when the dust settles, we shall all emerge from this with new perspectives on reading, on online courses, on relationships and on life itself! 

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