Diamond Amidst the Dust

When I first heard of Covid-19, I was back home for Chinese New Year, a celebration I had been looking forward to. It was also days before I flew back to Japan again for work. Little concern clouded my judgements then.

Days before my flight back to Japan, my parents raised their concerns with the current situation. I was not giving up on this chance, and whoever knows how long Covid-19 would last? Staying back home had no guarantee of 100% safety, but it did provide a less worrisome mind to my family.

I left shortly after the new year.

A part of me always wondered if I would regret my choice to return to Japan during the pandemic instead of sitting it out.

March came and Covid was slowly growing in Japan. My workplace was closed for a long time and I didn't really know how work really felt like as I only had two weeks of proper work time. The uncertainty with Covid ultimately affected my work. I woke up every morning checking my schedule and worrying about my ability to pay my bills for the next few months if the current situation continued.

As the Japanese government decided to uplift the state of emergency for 39 prefectures here in Japan a few days ago, growing concerns for the economy and the second wave of infections started their grand entrance.

I wasn't and still isn't very sure on how to handle the current situation. As time passed, I knew that it would be harder and harder to make any future plans here in Japan. Sometimes, a wave of regret consumes me.

As I listened to the song "Diamond" in the infamous "Itaewon Class" Korean drama available on Netflix (I have not watched it yet), I felt a strange sense of power and comfort overwhelming my fingers as I finished up a writing deadline.

I had to google the lyrics and read up on the drama's storyline. I read a description on the song "Diamond" that as I quote, "The original writer of the webtoon "Itaewon Class" and the scriptwriter of this drama, Jo Gwang Jin, wrote the lyrics for the song "Diamond", which perfectly expresses the iconic character, Park Sae Roy, whom is not swayed by anyone else and is solely focused on his own beliefs and values."

나도 한 번 크게 한 번
목이 터져라 울 수 있을 때까지

I hope this motivates us all as we power through these hard times of uncertainty and fear.

BOTAKYEN