Author: Josh

Check out the following delightful list of just random fun things former Peer Advisor and student staff Meaghan Gallagher has been nerding out on!

If you’re looking for a non-COVID-19 related post, welcome. If COVID-19 is consuming your mind and you want to feel hopeful during this time, then read peer advisor Nicky Cacchione’s post about silver linings. It’s about as feel-good as watching Queer Eye or being chosen by a dog to be its petter.

I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about things I’ve been nerding out on recently. Maybe you’ll find out we have common interests, maybe you’ll realize I’m not that cool, or maybe you’ll find a new worm hole to go down yourself. No matter the consequence, here are some cool things:

• I was taking an archaeology class called “London Before the Great Fire” this semester (peace, love, abroad) and it was completely fascinating. Before we were sent home for the semester, we would go on walking tours of the Roman, Saxon, and Medieval parts of London. I’d never have had that opportunity in DC – for the obvious geographical reason and my tendency to pursue outside interests only in Honors classes. I learned what the River Thames used to be like, before its encroachments, how to analyze the layout of a museum (Museum of London is excellent), and that there are remnants of the old Roman forum in the basement of a barber shop by Leadenhall Market. While finishing the class online isn’t as exciting as following my Professor through the streets of London and pointing out straight mortar joints and changes in topography, I am grateful that I got exposed to this topic and can now try to flex historical knowledge about London.
• I’m writing a paper for a class about blockchain and art. I am not by any means an art connoisseur, so I was hoping through my research I’d learn about more about the industry. In addition to learning the word “provenance”, I’ve learned a bit about digital art. Did you know there was a CryptoKitty that sold for $140,000? Blockchain also supports fractionalization, meaning multiple people can share ownership of a single item. Instead of one person owning 100% of a work, 100 people can each own 1% of it. Fractional ownership expands the market, allowing more people to access art as an investment asset since the price gets diluted.
• I’ve been nerding out on Westworld since Season 3 premiered March 15^th. It’s super topical with data privacy and automation debates raging. Be prepared to watch it multiple times, as the timelines can get confusing and it gets better on rewatch.
• Quarantine inspired me to try to learn how to play piano? My mom thinks I got inspired by watching Beth play her piano in Little Women (which I just read as well!). I really just need a new party trick after being told my North London accent is bad. I’m not so much as learning how to play than memorizing a few sections of songs I like, but Beethoven started somewhere too.
• I’m reading “A Year of Biblical Womanhood” by Rachel Held Evans. Held Evans sadly passed away young last year, but she was a prominent figure in the Evangelical Church. She spent a year following several Bible verses literally, causing her to do things like sit on her roof and call her husband, “Master”. The book kept using the phrase “the nuclear family”, which prompted me to read this article from David Brooks titled “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake”. If you have twenty minutes to read an article, this is fascinating. He talks about the economic, cultural, and societal factors that led to the decentralization of family structure.
• I finally got around to watching the newest Star Wars trilogy, meaning I’ve been taking a lot of Buzzfeed quizzes and watching cast interviews. The originals were still the best, but this trilogy was better than the prequels in my opinion. Flawed, yes, but better acting and a good villain. Willing to debate.
• There are these really good monologues done by famous actors for Almeida Theatre on YouTube. Here’s one Andrew Scott did (please watch Fleabag too if you haven’t) reciting a speech by Edith Sampson (who was super cool!). If you’re missing Origins, Derek Jacobi (who?) performed Socrates’ speech “I Go To Die”. They’re about 10 minutes each, so if you’re in need of some inspiration/philosophical contemplation/impressive acting, go watch those.
• A couple weeks ago I watched Daniel Sloss’ show “Jigsaw” on Netflix. He mixes dark humor with bits of seriousness at points, but it’s been one of the best pieces of standup I’ve seen in a while. I’ve shared it with everyone I know who likes comedy. He has a bit that’s ended at least 7,000 relationships – take that as you will.

That’s what I’ve been up to. Last time they let me on the blog, I wrote about how disillusioned I had become about “finding a passion”. Clearly, I still can’t settle on just one thing. Hopefully one of these things tips your interest and keeps you occupied for a few hours. In the meantime, stay healthy, practice social distancing, and have as much fun as possible.

Check out the following wisdom from Peer Advisor Ryan!

Currently, there are 112 words on my muted words list on Twitter. I know that number seems rather high, but allow me to explain.

In these strange, strange times in which we’re living, there is no shortage of statements about the coronavirus. There’s the crucial information that comes from doctors, medical experts, and local authorities, of course, but there’s also a glut of responses from just about everybody, even folks who you’re might not terribly interested in hearing from. Every clothing store you’ve ever bought socks from is emailing to communicative its COVID-19 policy; every discrete department and office at GW is sending you the same five tips for containing the virus; and every news outlet is running every conceivable coronavirus story imaginable. This seems only logical, we might think; it’s just what you have to do.

More brightly, there’s also been a deluge of (marginally) more sensitive content among this negativity. There are plenty of cute infographics about how to work from home, or tips for Zoom-based learning, or videos of celebrities admonishing you to practice social distancing.

These things, should they float your boat, can be great. But for me, they felt insufficient, in some way—while it felt nice to feel my sadness and worry be validated, the fact remained that these things left me feeling more negative than if I hadn’t seen them at all. So instead, I did something different: I just muted it all.

Coronavirus. COVID. COVID-19. #coronavirus. #COVID19. #C19. #COVID-19. #COVID_19. #COVID2019. Pandemic. Symptom. Diagnosed. Epidemic. Hand sanitizer. Wash your hands. Quarantine. These are just a few of the words on my long, long list—and it’s an ongoing project, as Twitter users seem to be constantly hopping to new permutations of #COVID19 with each passing day. On top of this, I used the content preferences on my phone to allow me to use my news app for only one minute each day—enough to get major notifications, but not enough to be sucked into a pool of despair. And I couldn’t be gladder about doing it.

Does this mean that I’m contentedly ignoring this issue? No, of course not. I care deeply about the epidemic, especially as an immunocompromised person, and I’ve spoken with my health care providers and keep up with official statements from my local government. But expanding my muted words list in this way was like a gift from the universe, because it allowed me to see that my life wasn’t getting any better, I wasn’t getting any safer, and the world wasn’t getting any healthier by me reading another anxiety-inducing tweet. On the contrary, these tweets were only making me feel so freaked out that I was paralyzed, unable to do anything to help those around me or do my part to protect those even more vulnerable than myself.

I think of this great purge as an act of discernment—I’m discerning when online coronavirus can be good and beneficial, and when, on the contrary, it’s not helpful. Because, to be clear, all of this content should be directing you to help your community, or to love those around you, or to act with safety and thoughtfulness—and if it’s not doing that, then you aren’t obligated to expose yourself to it every single day. Needless paralyzing anxiety doesn’t isn’t good for anybody!

Even further, it’s important to remember that your discernment might put you in a different place than mine did. For some folks, it’s possible that reading every bit of coronavirus coverage is helpful. As I’ve said in quite a few words, that isn’t the case for me. So in these times of difficulty and tribulation, I want to offer a word of advice to anyone who needs it: it’s okay to be discerning with this stuff, and it’s okay to decide that you’ve read enough for the day.