Requiem for Summer'20

🏴 Most of my summer was occupied by thoughts about Belarus. The requiem can’t represent the true summer without statement on the situation in my home country.

- dealing with a lot of change in many aspects of life: personal and professional
- adopting a rescue puppy from Korea: learning a lot about how to take care of dogs, how to train them and also how to not go insane with constant supervision and attention
- worrying about friend being unlawfully detained
- experiencing pure joy after facetiming with him after he’s been freed
- celebrating C. birthday
- reading and learning about BLM movement
- driving upstate for a little hike with friends
- watching Lexington ave with no cars
- learning to ride a bike
- standing up for myself at work and moving things forward
- driving to Philly on a rental car that turned out to be a ridiculous Jeep pickup
- baking bread for the first time
- getting to know our neighbors
- seeing family after a long quarantine
- celebrating Hanna’s time in New York and having a farewell party in Prospect park
- having a lot of flashback to 2010
- having a crazy amount of support from friends and co-workers
- reading

short version: Тваё мора не мае назвы

On Belarus

On situation in Belarus:
This summer was mostly spent in the constant state of anxiety and worry about my friends and family.
In short: a dictator president who has been in power for 26 years rigged elections again and then used police force against peaceful protesters. People were tortured, people died, people will need a long time to recover after this horrific experience.
I’ve been in 2 states most of the time: complete hopelessness and then… inspiration.
I am forever grateful to people who are showing up and protesting every day, to people who are helping other people, to people who are brave enough to say “Enough is enough”. Thank you for everything you are doing, I will never forget your bravery.
I believe that Belarus will be free and I believe that kindness and love will win.

Here’re some good resources about what is happening:
- Episode of The Daily podcast (NYT)
- BBC: Belarus elections: Shocked by violence, people loose their fear
- New Yorker:After a Rigged Election, Belarus Crushed Protests Amid an Information Blackout by Masha Gessen
- NYT: What’s Happening in Belarus?
- The Guardian: Belarus protests: 25-year old man dies in custody
- CNN: Video shows students violently detained in Belarus

Жыве Беларусь! 🤍❤️🤍

Requiem for Spring '20

Upd. It is devastating and heartbreaking - everything that is going on in the United States right now.
I am angry of the injustice and of the systems that are in place that allow the injustice to happen. I am against police brutality.
And I can not be silent.
I will educate myself and do the work.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

This requiem is a little different from all the ones I’ve done. This spring I spent at home.
March 10th was the last time I commuted to the office in Chelsea.
I didn’t know yet that it was the last time in the long time I’d use my metrocard or even step into Manhattan. I didn’t know that the weekend before would be the last one I can travel to see a friend. I didn’t know that spring will bring a lot of feelings… anxiety. uncertainty and … gratitude.

- staying together with C. throughout this weird times;
- connecting with friends and family from across different states, countries and even continents and missing them and feeling deep love to these humans
- finishing my 2020 reading challenge
- feeling extremely grateful and lucky for supportive co-workers and amazing team who’s been pushing through the ambiguity and doing their best
- trying out virtual doctor visit and trying new medication
- still feeling extreme sadness and helplessness
- seeing a place where I grew up in my dreams
- learning to bake biscuits
- setting up a herb garden with basil, cilantro and mint
- watching High Maintenance and feeling love for New York and Brooklyn especially
- attempting to bleach my hair
- supporting our favorite local businesses
- getting surprises from C.
- getting to know few of my neighbors and their cat
- watching cats from a building across
- participating in the photoshoot done by my talented friend
- completing 30-day yoga challenge
- learning to illustrate
- rewatching all the Harry Potter movies and loosing my cool when (spoiler alert!) Dobbie died