Victoria
Quarantine Project
A bit inspired by the museum art challenge and the quarantine, I worked on this little project about the pandemic with a lighter mood, to show how different it’s to stay home in 2020 vs 100+ years ago. I introduce you to Miss Victoria, my past self. She’ll be showing us some differences that we may be taking for granted.
In 1918, when the terrible Spanish Flu pandemic happened, women were the ones who jumped to the front lines because more men of all ages were sick and dying. That pandemic showed how important women were and are for the world in all fields, which opened the door for big rights movements. This time, there are the immigrants going to the front lines. Is that good enough proof of how important they are in society?
I told Victoria about our fitness obsession nowadays and she didn’t quite understand. She told me the physician recommended her to touch her feet to stay fit, and she feels great. I told her about the free trials, but quickly realized that was going to be a very complicated and long explanation, so I just kept it as we do all kind of workouts at home. I joked with her saying that we are “flattening our curves”, but I think I was not funny a century ago either.
She also told me how much she likes looking at the window, it’s very relaxing to see the sky and the birds, but there’s not much people walking by. I asked her if she likes movies, but she immediately started sobbing, unfortunately his movie crush Harold Lockwood had died one month before due to the Spanish Flu at only 30 years old. She told me The Promise was one of her favorite movies, she saw it the year before. The theaters were also closed at that point because of the pandemic. I told her we have so many movies and series to watch, we usually binge watch. I felt a bit embarrassed that we have so many options and she has a window with barely anything happening. I also felt nostalgic.
Anyway, enjoy your shows, but stay home. Victoria sends greetings.
So… I discovered that Victoria likes writing as much as I do. She writes pretty long letters, very (very) often. I told her I write very long posts and emails, which it’s not good these days that people don’t like reading too much. She told me she’s writing letters to thank the frontline nurses taking care of the flu patients even risking their lives, I told her we clap from our windows at 7pm and share inspirational memes and videos.
It’s hard to explain her how we can send all kind of messages instantly nowadays and receive immediate responses. She wondered if having that immediacy can kill the expectation and emotion. I said they’re still there, but only a few seconds. I still struggle to explain how internet really works, one of those things we take for granted.
I honestly think she doesn’t believe half of what I’m saying but she’s too proper to tell me. Anyway, I think it’d be nice to receive real letters once in a while. In the mailbox, not in the inbox (she didn’t laugh either). She asks us to please please stay home, the consequences of a pandemic are devastating, we’re much luckier than they are now.
We also talked about cleaning, she is actually neater than I am, her space looks great. It’s funny how having more machines to clean, doesn’t necessarily mean we’re tidier. I told her washing machines are amazing, but they’re not common in New York. However, we have Roombas, dishwashers, Alexas (this was a hard one), etc.
During the lockdown, being in touch with friends, parents, family and coworkers bring us sanity and hopefulness, because we’re really all in this together and going through similar struggles.
However, I was wondering how Victoria was doing without ANY contact with her family and friends, must’ve been pretty hard for her and everyone in those times to face a lockdown completely alone. Thankfully they didn’t know that was going to change so soon in history and humans were going to be able to communicate to each other on tiny screens in real time. I apologized to her for ruining her current situation with the news, but I also explained it will have greater social costs.
Being in touch so easily with our loved ones and having so much access to acquaintances and strangers in social media, sometimes makes us feel more isolated and gives us the terrible option to avoid ourselves, our feelings and fears, constantly. So, the lonely and reflective time can be procrastinated pretty much all our lives. “How sad” she said.
Victoria has some cool vintage photographs and she always carries a lovely necklace with a picture of her mother in one side and her lover on the other side. Her mom doesn’t know she’s sharing Victoria’s heart with him, but she’d understand.
Anyway, stay home and make sure to say I love you to your people and yourself, don’t get caught up on people’s lives because they (we all) post the best pics and the best moments, then we all struggle in our own way (some more privileged than others).
Big hug from Victoria
I was talking to Victoria about food. Dear friends, don’t ever EVER complain about food again. Back then, when fridge was not a big thing yet, foods were much more limited -for good and for bad.
Fresh produce? forget about it. If you’d live in NY, you’d die without trying an avocado, a mango and (hopefully) a burrito. She had me for dinner, she was having some bread, butter, some milk (milk men still deliver here), and tea. I can’t imagine my quarantine without salads, veggies, fruits, pizza, cheese, chocolates, please stop! Fortunately, snacking was not a thing yet, neither binge eating or binge whatever, those are perks of our new anxious world.
Believe it or not, she’s also been doing more baking, it must be a pandemic hobby. There are some amazing bakeries she loves, but they are closed (she’s a sweet tooth too, I’m historically doomed to that).
Please value your beautiful and instagramable food and nourish your body, health starts from within. Thankfully for us, there are amazing people that can bring all your food and treats to your door.
Stay home! We’re almost there! Best wishes and regards from Victoria!
I told Victoria about the selfie “culture”. She didn’t quite get why people would take (so many) pictures of themselves. I told her there are a bunch of cool filters than help us look different, because to her point, we get quite bored of our faces. It’s dangerous to be bored and have a phone in your hands.
Anyway, she managed to get a selfie pic, I think she still looks cooler tho.
Take as many selfies as you want (you don’t have to post them all), but try to stay home. We’re almost there.
