Dear Desk Chair,
We’ve now been together for 244 days. That’s 5856 hours, or 351,360 minutes. Any way you put it it’s been a long ass time (pun intended). I sit on you for several hours on end since there is no reason for me to leave the house rather than the occasional war raid into Five Below for my large therapeutic gummy bags. Throughout that time, we have been through a shocking lot. Of course, our relationship started with the emergence of COVID-19, which doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Quickly following that has been the Black Lives Matter movement, which took the whole world by storm, and effects are still being seen throughout the nation even though coverage has been pretty lackluster recently. Lastly, who could forget this historic election that has been as interesting as many predicted but feared. I believe that because of all of these events, coupled with my isolation that breeds overthinking, we have fundamentally changed together. You rather physically with butt indents, a loosening armrest and the pillow I put on you to make you a bit more comfortable, but I, rather mentally. COVID-19 and the aftershocks it had on a multitude of different industries really exposed many of the shortcomings of America’s systems – education and healthcare being two of the most evident. Schools were found deeply unprepared for the switch to a virtual format and that hasn’t seemed to get much better in fall of 2020 even with the summer of preparation. Likewise, our healthcare system was blown apart by the pandemic and only recovered (if you want to even call it a recovery) with massive intervention from the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Sitting at home with you watching all of this unfold was pretty crushing and really made me want to evaluate what exactly was happening and why it was happening. It was through this time that I really began to understand the flaws of our systems and how it impacts the people who rely on them. The most holistic point I’ve noted is that, even with our already broken system, it is always the least valued groups that are left out. On a much larger scale it is a class issue. It’s pretty simple to understand that those with money and connections have access to much better healthcare, look no further to our illustrious President for proof. But as you begin to pay attention on a deeper and local level it also begins to become a race issue, an ethnicity issue, and of course begins to impact Individuals based off on their citizen status. I’ve always known that these were issues, but like many people, since I never experienced it firsthand, I never payed enough attention to it. I feel much different now. It feels much more personal now. It is much more personal now. The endless hours I have been with you has been eye-opening in ways that I doubt would have been possible with anyone else. Although we’ve had times when we have fought, gotten incredibly tired of each other, and have outright refused to see each other for days on end – it is clear our fates have been intertwined this past half year. And in some weird way, I have valued that time.
Respectfully yours,
Darien Kenner