Update

Hey readers,

I wanted to do a quick post today to touch base and give an update. I am officially 14 weeks into quarantine and believe me it has not gotten any easier. If anything, over the last several weeks I've become more frustrated and overwhelmed. If you have been keeping up with me you know that back in April I completed my ECE diploma. I have made a lot of connections throughout the years with many different schools and early this year many schools reached out to me asking when I would be finished my diploma so that they could start giving me a call to work. For those of you who know me well, being in the classroom gives me so much joy, so not being able to get back into the classroom once I graduated was very difficult. I was so looking forward to seeing all of my students who I haven't seen for most of 2019/2020 school year and then the pandemic happened. I try to remain hopeful and optimistic but it is extremely difficult when there is so much uncertainty. We have no idea what the school environment will look like or if in September we will even return. Not even being an employee of the school board yet just makes it that more difficult. Will the schools even be hiring supply ECE's for September? We really don't know anything. Even talking to my friends who are already teacher's with the school board don't even know what's going to happen.

As I sit here in my room today with my thoughts, there are so many things running through my head. Not working as soon as I finished school delays many things in my life. Not having an income through this pandemic delays many things in my life. When I think about my future life and where I see myself is now blurred because I don't know where I stand anymore. Plans I had will be significantly pushed back. I know I am not the only person who feels this way, and I know there are many people that are dealing with similar if not more stressful situations then what I am going through. It's hard to stay positive when the economy is crashing around me. What will this mean for future jobs, the housing market, planning a wedding, going on vacation, starting a family? Just the other day I was online checking prices for a trip to Europe in June 2021. Will that even be an option for me, will this be over by then? everything is unknown. Trying to confide in my parents doesn't give me much reassurance either because they've never really experienced anything like this before. They lived through the 2007-2009 recession but that didn't involve a world wide pandemic, these are different circumstances. I've talked to many of my friends who are either purchased homes or are looking to purchase homes and the same answer comes up with each discussion. Regardless of what is going on, prices of homes will stay stable. The housing market will never be like it was in 2007 when the prices for homes in Vaughan were in the mid $300,000's and the interest rates were high. With this as the case how does someone like myself, who is a recent graduate, who did not qualify for CERB and has no job, be able to afford a home in my town? 

As I sit here in my room today, feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, scared, what do I tell myself? Everything's going to be okay, things will work out, this will be over soon. Ya I can do that but do these words make up for the feelings I am experiencing. Unfortunately the only thing I can do now is wait and that is extremely difficult for me. I have been a planner all my life and this pandemic certainly placed a large wedge in front of my plans. I know I'm young but this is my life, regardless of other's opinions on the matter I want to start my life. I have been through more than I ever thought I would have to go through at the age of 23. I want the rest of my life to be filled with happy memories and good health but how do I see the light at the end of the tunnel when there is no certainty of what life is going to be like moving forward. I've said it from the start and I will say it again, I would like to say thank you for all of the front line workers who have dedicated their lives and made extreme sacrifices to tend to this pandemic and I hope for their sake that this will all be over soon. We as a society have to pick up the broken pieces and put our economy back together. I just pray that for people who are in the same boat as me, who are young adults anticipating to start their independent lives that we have a chance in the re-birth of this economy. 

Thank you for reading my rant today. Doing this always makes me feel better and reading comments helps me know that there are others who are feeling worried and scared and that we will all get through this together. Stay safe everyone.

Deanna