Rahmah Meligy
My social media: @MeligyRahmah
Current city, state, country: Cairo, Egypt
My profession: Author/Student
Describe your daily routine before the pandemic and during: The disease that would terminate a portion of disagreeable as well as agreeable men alike, was deemed as a trivial matter by the most influential of forces. And so the consequences commenced.
I am an American living in the land of the Nile. The life I had not feared would tarnish was the life I could not see would not relish into mankind in the very near future. The life before and the life after created the basic movement that diverted the whole being of my life. The pandemic had manifested the abruption of many of the substantial events that were planned beforehand. Before the pandemic, we were to venture to the very south of the Egyptian territory. We were to venture to the very origins of the vigorous Nile in the Egyptian territory, we were to travel to Aswan and Nubia. Covid-19 had not been much of a dilemma in the early days of march. But the times changed, and the people changed as well. Aswan is famous for the countless tourists it gets from across the world. But the matter grew more grave, and Covid-19 had been spread at an alarming rate. Trips from all across Egypt were to be cancelled and we were to be sent home. At that time I had been near the end of the journey of commencing many exams, and so the last day of school had been short and simple. I had left at approximately 12 o'clock, not knowing that it would be the last day I would set foot on these grounds, not knowing then that it would be a long time until I would set forth on these grounds again. The reason we were to be sent home was because of the unruly weather announced to be fatal in the days to come. That weekend it had been announced that we were to stay at home for the weeks to come. My life and the culture I had been surrounded with had drastically changed from the moment I had been isolated into my home. I felt myself to be in a drastically different country, the reason for this shift was because of the people and media I was surrounded with. My family does not speak or act the way most Egyptians act, and therefore the culture of expression I was surrounded with had shifted, and additionally, any expression we had grabbed from Egyptian culture had faded as well, and the need of fitting in with the majority had also faded as well. Additionally, the media I had been surrounded with had contained almost all factors of American life. The TV I would watch was English and American. Most of my social media accounts I would chat with Americans or even people that were foreign to me. I had been handed the blessing of time to commence in the act of crafting my book. It had not been a week since I had started writing it, then the pandemic grew worse and so I was handed a two week break from school and from outwardly matters.
This pandemic makes me feel like: My heart is in the bliss of hope, for this pandemic brought a lot of blessings with its curse, and I would be forever grateful for this pandemic. This pandemic has allowed me to go back to the origins of my soul, to be the authentic being I deserve to be, and the war of conformity and authenticity held few fires in my soul. For this pandemic allowed me to sit with myself and witness who I truly am, without the effects of society playing in.
This pandemic makes me think: This is a significant time in history where we should document the experience of it all, the overall human experience should never be forgotten and should be put down in the history of mankind, not the words of politicians, but the words of the people. And I find this community to be part of it.
Imagine living in a critical point in history, where this shall be remembered, and the experiences of the people shall not be forgotten. Memories shall be salvaged for future generations and thoughts shall be authentic and ruled by the people.
This pandemic makes me hope/pray for: Makes me pray for it to end, but also I hope for the republcian party to reject the notions of Donald Trump and for the Democratic party to thrive once again.
What I think of the government’s response: If we would take in accountable the U.S government, then I would say the government is committing an act of total irresponsibility, the government is concerned with the country (economy) not the people. I hope with the probable light in my soul for this to reveal to the republican party the commander in chief's true colors. I hope for the rise of the democratic party, for me the party symbolizes what America aspires to be. It inspires the diversity of such a nation, and I believe one of the underlying factors in the thriving of such a nation is because it was built by immigrants from all around the world. Our families are all immigrants, nobody in this country is truly ethnically American except for the Native Americans themselves. Diversity should be advocated for and cherished.
Recommendations for TV shows, movies, books or podcasts: I am an avid reader. I believe literature to play a significant role in the development of humanity. It is to create civilizations. The knowledge literature conveys holds the insight one needs to understand the minds of men. Literature helps us understand the daily and annual matter our lives behold. I would recommend all the classics, but if you are more interested in political matters, I would recommend Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and 1984 by George Orwell. But if you are not so, I would recommend Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy or Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. At this time of crisis, audible is offering some of its stories for free, they require no payment, you can find them online (this offer is non existent on the app, it could be found only on the web).
Before this pandemic, my plans for the next 6 months were: Substantial events were to happen at school, like the annual MUN (model united nations) where I was to be the delegate of the United States. Most of our school events usually happen by the end of the school year. My summer plans were for us to venture to the maritime Egyptian city of Hurghada. We were also to venture to the Northern Coast of the vast Egyptian shores. Our dear friends, who live in the UAE, are planning to come this summer to Egypt, but the matters are grave and there is no telling what shall happen.
What I have in my fridge/freezer and pantry: Cheese. Every day I have a cheese sandwich for breakfast.
Creative things to do with kids: Talk with them. Do not commence a conversation with them with the intention to dumb down the words you utter. I remember when I was a kid I used to understand the matters that would go on in the environment surrounding me. Children too have inner voices and think for themselves, they get affected by other people and react to different things, just like us. A kid spoken to with much consideration to their intellectual maturity will respond to you in a respectful manner.
General advice/thoughts/anxieties to share with others: The advice I would provide for such a grave matter in such a grave time, is first and foremost, wash your hands, socially distance yourself and wear masks. And whenever you touch anything from outside, you must spray your hands with a solution of 70% alcohol. The other advice I will provide is, when at home, commence the activity you so longingly wanted to achieve. The dream you long to conquer you have time for now, so you must thrive in this world and work hard in order to achieve any success of any degree. Failure does not mean you are not good enough, it is a normal part of life that is inevitable for it not to hit a person, you need only to persevere, feel the doubt and do it anyway.
We must long, but not dwell. Longing inspires hope. Dwelling inspires termination. If one's longing overwhelms his existence for long, dwell shall be the state. Dwell is the contrary state of longing and so it is the contrary state of hope it is the state of mind that is hopeless.