The Pandemic affected me, which affected my writing in many ways.
The roller coaster ride with my Mental Health which was generally headed in a different direction than my peers, stalled my creative process. But after processing said issues, they formed significant material for me to write about.
The question "Why am I writing this?" became more prominent during this time, which made me doubt the validity of my article, such as figuring out how it was contributing to the world now.
This was a good thing as well as a bad thing. In some moments, I had to keep doubt aside and assure myself that my life and thoughts are important, even now and maybe more so.
On the other hand, it motivated me to write about more important and difficult topics which I hoped my readers would connect with.
In the first two months of Lockdown, I had a hard time grounding myself in reality. I felt guilty, privileged, unimportant, and anxious. I felt too much pain and then none at all. And most of all, I doubted if anything I had to say right now held any amount of meaning or relevance to anyone.
Then after working on myself and tracking my mental health closely for a month, I decided to talk about everything I was going through, honestly, abundantly, and candidly.
This helped me process things better, make sense of the diverse set of emotions I was feeling, and also remind myself of why I do, what I do. I decided to slow down, take it easy, and focus on what was important, taking care of myself.
I ended this journey by repeating to myself that I matter, my problems are important, and my experiences are worth sharing.
I echoed the same to my readers, encouraging them to honestly share their thoughts and feelings, which made me feel good.
I felt as if, in a small way, I was doing my bit.
The Pandemic has changed our lives forever, and now more than ever is a time for us to come together, share real stories, thoughts and feelings.
The material that I have read on Medium in the past year has been incredibly moving, therapeutic, and reassuring. I hope that I get to read and learn from such content even when things get better.
