“You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. You know why? Because life cannot be planned.”

— Ki-taek, Parasite (2019)

Ah, of course. The week after I write about commitments, I decide to break my commitment. How ironic. I doubt it matters much to anyone except myself, but since this is a self-commitment, I ought to be holding myself accountable. 

Alas, I’ve realized that I don’t have much inspiration to write, which is rather odd since I’ve only been blogging for about a month or so— there’s no way that I’ve exhausted all of my ideas. I haven’t. In fact, I have quite a few unfinished blog post drafts and completely unexplored topics. I have brainstorms, I have notes, and I have countless introductions… but I have no inspiration. No inspiration on how to write a blog post that is actually meaningful or helpful to anyone else. But from here on out, I’ll try to stop overthinking it. After all, blogging is my hobby and not a source of income! If I were doing this for money, I would probably have $0 or less. (Hence why I am not doing this for the money.)

What happens to this blog in the future is uncertain, just as my own future is uncertain. 

I don’t agree with Ki-taek that having no plan is the way to go, nor do I agree that life cannot be planned; but I do agree that things oftentimes don’t go the way you initially expect them to. I do have ideas for the future of this blog, as do I have ideas for my own future… but whether or not any of these ideas will come to be is something that nobody can possibly know with 100% certainty until the time comes. As much as I dislike uncertainty, that’s exactly what the future is. There are so many variables beyond our own control, and so being flexible to unexpected obstacles is essential.

But yeah, I haven’t forgotten about the blog. All is well, with me, though I really dislike daylight savings. You wouldn’t think that 1 hour makes a big difference, but I’ve gotten used to waking up at exactly 7:20am in the morning without feeling absolutely horrible. Waking up at 6:20am, on the other hand… It’s been a rough week of chugging tea and coffee. I guess I really just wanted to check-in to say that I haven’t died from the novel coronavirus, or anything else.

Though, the novel coronavirus is becoming an increasingly big concern here in BC. There are so many controversial debates about it, like whether UBC campus should close or remain open, whether wearing masks is justified… 

I’m not too worried about myself— I’m in my 20s, and while I don’t have the healthiest lifestyle, I’m not afflicted with any other underlying illness that would put me at high-risk. I am, however, very concerned for the people I come into contact with. I live with my parents, and I volunteer at a senior home, as well as the hospital. I am constantly coming into contact with at-risk populations, and my worst fear is that I might cause an outbreak. What if I have the novel coronavirus, but I’m still currently asymptomatic? What if my runny nose isn’t allergies? I don’t know if I’m being paranoid… I probably am… but I just cannot fathom what I’d do if I ended up being the reason why someone else fell ill or died. 

And this is why I wear a mask. It might be excessively precautious, but I don’t want to spread illness. Of course, don’t go out if you’re sick. But if the idea is to not go out if you have any reason to believe that you might have the novel coronavirus, then I suppose I’d never step foot from my house again. There’s a thousand ways that anyone might get sick. Implausible ways, sure, but not impossible.

I’ve received numerous e-mails on the topic, be it with regards to volunteering or to school, and I really do disagree with some of the views expressed. For example, I was instructed not to wear a mask to volunteering because it spreads fear, but I would rather spread fear than the virus. I was also told that people who do not display symptoms pose no risk to me… which is a convenient statement, but there’s evidence suggesting that the virus can be spread even if you don’t have symptoms. Honestly, no matter what your take is, I think we can all agree that we need to stay aware of what’s going on. I don’t need false reassurance in an attempt to counter the panic. I just want the truth and the facts. Unfortunately, there’s ultimately not much we can do now except continue practicing good hygiene and hope for the best.

Anyway, I don’t know when my next post will be— perhaps next week, perhaps next month. Until we meet again, though, stay safe!