An update from the life after lockdown
Well, it’s certainly been a while since I updated this particular corner of the internet.
If you need a reason all I’ll say is…2020.
Like everyone, I went into lockdown thinking I’d achieve so much with all the new ‘free time’. I’d meal prep and make healthy choices, I’d bake, I’d craft, I’d blog constantly and finally clear the backlog of half-written travel posts I have. Some of my friends did a whole Post Pandemic Remodeling plan for when the jobs were open and builders were back to indoor work, ha!
Clearly none of that happened. I’m so grateful to live in New Zealand where our lockdown was relatively short and life on the other side, especially now, is basically back to normal. But I know that this isn’t the reality for many people. It didn’t feel right, to post about travel when so many people are restricted.
Not only that but shortly after lockdown I watched protests erupt in America, saw the mantle of Black Lives Matter be picked up back home in the UK, and joined marches for racial equality here in NZ. Social media was full of people having difficult, necessary, long-overdue conversations. I took time out to step back, educate myself, and most importantly listen. It didn’t feel appropriate to blog during that time either. (I have compiled some resources I found helpful below.)
Then my mental health took a nosedive thanks to a super fun combo of SAD, homesickness, and general life in 2020. I think I’m coming through the other side now, and I’m finally feeling the urge to write again which makes me feel like I’m slowly but surely finding my way back to myself.
I’m excited to finish and share some long overdue travel post, I know travel isn’t on the immediate agenda for many but I hope it can help my readers escape a litte, or even plan trips for when this is all over. I’ll also post more about NZ travel and life here in New Zealand now that life is ‘relatively’ back to normal.
Speak soon!
Sarah xx
Below are some Black lives matter resources that I have found useful in my journey to being a better ally and anti-racist. I’m very much at the beginning of the process of educating myself, a process that I know need to be continual, I hope the below help any of you who may feel the same.
Read:
- A letter to my white friends – a powerful personal essay by Chris Lambert.
- Iconic Women of Colour: The Amazing True Stories Behind Inspirational Women of Colour by Candi Williams, my incredible friend. This is a great intro and overview to a lot of incredible women of colour, some of whom may be new to you. This would also be a great conversation starter for introducing kids to these topics.
- This blog post from Studio DIY has a tonne of great anti-racism resources.
- This list of books has inspired my current TBR.
- Here’s an amazing document full of links to resources, things to watch and read: Anti-racism resources for white people – Compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein.
Watch:
- 13th – Ava DuVernay’s incredibly powerful documentary on racial injustice and the American prison-industrial complex
- Malcolm X – a biopic of Malcolm X directed by Spike Lee. I learned about Malcolm X when I studied ethics and Black Theology at school but I was surprised about how few British people, in particular, haven’t heard of him. He’s an important influential civil rights leader with an incredible, and tragic, story.
- Get Out – directed by Jordan Peele, this film is great for so many reasons, not least because of how it satirises the racism that can lurk under the surface of the most ‘liberal’ people.
- Da 5 Bloods – Another Spike Lee film which only came out this year, it tells the story of a group of Black Vietnam veterans coming to terms with their shared past.
