Dear COVID-19

Dear Covid-19,

You have caused a great mess. The respect you’ve earned for the damage you have caused is immense. Nowadays, it seems like everybody is always giving you attention and thinking about you, and there is no doubt in my mind that you enjoy every bit of it. It was as if you felt disregarded when they were just acknowledging you as a mere variation of the flu. Now that you, Covid-19, have brought us to our knees such that none of us have ever before seen in our lifetimes, you force us to adapt to this new normal. 

The thought of you makes me sick. Before you came along in March, the year had felt like an eternity. From my vacation where I would’ve gotten together with my family to the tennis season I was looking forward to, you have taken all of that away from me. Waking up everyday, looking forward to seeing my friends while maintaining a solid routine is gone. All the highlights and big-time moments that I wanted to see in the big-league sports have been snatched away. It doesn’t make it easier when I see you on the news where your suffering and devastating impacts are showcased on TV. This is a war. But our medical staff (like my mom), are rising to the occasion on the front lines working tirelessly to face you head-on.

And even though there is so much I wish I could return to, there is still much I hold on to. You thought that you could break me through physically distancing myself from my friends, but instead you allowed me to test out the benefits of social media. Playing video games with my guys, checking up on family, and Facetiming my friends have all kept my plenty occupied. The time you’ve opened up for me has only allowed me to spend it on staying in shape and reading some of my books. You have been advertised and portrayed as the deciding factor that will bring the end of the world. But realistically you’ve only given us more time to better ourselves. So when we come out of this, and we will, humanity will come out as the improved varieties of ourselves.

Go to hell,

Jordy Pinero