15/05/2022
Hasheemah here. A month ago, and I were reflecting on what the past two years of the pandemic have been like since we started & we thought to share our own reflections here. As I’ve been thinking through the videos and images that were shared with us in the early months of the pandemic, I thought of how I didn’t have to be there to feel how quiet things were. In New Orleans, one of the things I noticed was how the hotels across the city were left with the lights off. I can see the side of the Sheraton from one of my windows & remember only seeing the chandelier of the ballroom on the top floor lit up and the word HOPE” projected onto the hotel. How ironic to start this century’s 20s with a ballroom lit up with no guests, no music, no party. The lights signified more than that, though. Not only were the tourists not around but so were many hospitality workers who worked in the industry and were out of work until pending. And so, when I was walking around the city a few weeks ago, I looked up and thought, “the lights are back on.” In reality, they’d been back on for a while now, but when I took this picture, it’s when I took it in. The lights were back on, and two years since the pandemic, this signified more than just the fact. Head over to the previous post to read Lina’s thoughts. 📸:
