It is wednesday March 25, the 9th day of quarantine. A rainy day with heavy cloud cover, and for me, the 6th and final week of bedrest. 

Social isolation hasn’t been easy, and for a senior it’s even harder. I feel very sad and let down, because after 12 years of hard work and making friends, it’s coming to an end and we can’t even be together to celebrate and say our goodbyes. Some days are hard, other days are harder and the isolation that I think we all feel after even one week, despite the technology we are surrounded by is really hard to deal with. Plain and simple, no sugar coating or euphemisms it sucks and there is no way around it. I am struggling with it even more because I have been doing this for a month already, and had I known this was coming I would never have agreed to a reconstructive surgery followed by 6 weeks bed rest and separation from my friends, who I already miss more than anything and we haven’t even graduated yet.

That drag community was hit really hard by the virus, because pretty much everyone was put out of work. A lot of drag queens, and other performers rely on weekly show tips for income and without them, are really struggling. Even though work was stopped that doesn’t mean that the bills have, nor have the groceries and nor have the other costs of living. And it’s not even like performers can go out and get a side job because those have all closed too. So the drag community has gone digital, and is fighting through it. Because as a community, this isn’t a crazy new reality. Performers have struggled to find work for as long as they have been around and the bill never waited for them then. 

I think my favorite thing now is going on instagram and seeing all the art and content that performers are putting out. My drag mum put out a song the other day about staying at home, my drag sister has been reading scary stories as a podcast, other performers have hosted virtual drag shows with venmo handles attached so that incomes can still be made and pretty much everyone is taking the time to grow as an artist. It’s actually very inspiring.  

That being said I really hope that this is all over soon, so that we can go back to out lives and continue to do what we love, for the people that we love.