Beyond directly responding to constituents and working with them through their concerns, this week I was also tasked with taking notes on the White House task force and their daily briefings. In this I spent roughly an hour and a half daily watching representatives from the White House, from the President on down, discuss developments concerning the nation’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while I was a bit bemused in hearing some of the theatrics and heated back and forth between reporters and White House representatives, I was more bemused by taking notes.
It reminded me of my classes, which all have moved online in response to the coronavirus. Initially detailing each member present, I took bullet note after bullet note on all that was said. Though unlike my classes, where we sometimes take notes on abstract and nebulous concepts I’m unsure I’ll ever be able to apply to real life, the notes I took this week were directly applicable to the world around me. Despite the inherent politics involved, I felt more secure knowing the notes I was taking actually meant something. That like the notes I was taking on the Governor’s press conferences, the information would be used for others’ education. That they could be relied upon for others’ work. Taking notes for over a decade now as a function of my own education, it felt terrific to take notes for a purpose. To feel like all my practice meant something. That all of the articles, books, poems, etc. I’ve gone through and written upon could have prepared me for something beyond a grade. Still working at home with little else changed, that slight bemusing thought made my week. Working to recognize and accept the new reality promoted by COVID-19, I’ve been trying to take solace in the little things of life that bemuse me or give me joy – especially as it pertains to the work I do. As I miss my co-workers, college friends, significant other and Alaska friends, I think it’s important to highlight the little things that make one smile. With that and faith that, in the end, things will be okay, I believe one may leave this pandemic just as okay as one entered it. Until then, I’m going to try and enjoy the knowledge that all of the notes I took for other things allowed me to take quality notes on the White House task force and Governor’s press conferences.
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Mike Juvrud