Resilience in the Time of a Pandemic
Over the past few weeks--as many people are right now--I have struggled. It is difficult to know what to do in a time as unprecedented as this. I am privileged and grateful to have a place I call home, parents who can and are willing to help me out financially, a therapist to help me cope, and that I am living with people that I call my chosen family, my partner and my best friend. When I feel lost in such a way as I feel in a global pandemic, I often look to the queer and trans youth of the past who fought through their own pandemic--HIV and AIDS in the 80's. While HIV/AIDS is not a "queer" or "trans" disease and affects many other demographics, the connotation of the disease was associated with the LGBTQ+ community. I see their resilience to government neglect, police abuse, constant death and become inspired. While COVID-19 is not a disease we can "fight"--although fighting for universal healthcare, student loan debt cancellation, livable wages as a
