As someone who spends a decent amount of time on social media, I’ve watched how Facebook has passed around various versions of the meme that look something along the lines of:
To start, the facts behind these statements are few and far between. Among the thousands of past and present Shakespeare scholars, there is no definite proof of the timeline in which Shakespeare wrote his plays. We do know that there were bubonic plague outbreaks in around his early childhood, and again in early 1600s in England during the time and area we believe Shakespeare to have lived . Thousands of lives were lost, and the gore surrounding the era was overwhelming.
However, it’s detrimental to compare that time to now. We may not have corpses piling up on the street or plague pits in the middle of town, but we have people locked up into their homes, their needs ignored by their government, and their money dwindling to nothing alongside their food. From the college student perspective, this idea of “create now while you’re stuck inside doing nothing” is killing me. So, I want to talk about my ‘now.’
As a 20-year-old attending in-person classes during this pandemic, I’m living day to day. The easy things become difficult and filled with anxiety, like sharing the communal bathroom on my floor and eating at the cafeteria. Will someone not wear their mask because they see it useless and I’ll get sick or will I catch it from a cafeteria worker who doesn’t get paid sick days? You move up a level with going to classes and going to the grocery store, and the danger of existing goes up. You’re surrounded people who blatantly disregard the rules in both places. People who don’t believe in the virus that killed your grandmother and many patients of your father. Your social life doesn’t happen outside of the two or three people who you choose to be around to mitigate threat. That, and if you’re enforcing the rules, you’re seen as a bully so some purposely avoid you or seek you out for harm.
As a musical theatre student, trying to get anything done in classes and in a safe manner is pushing the barriers. Every moment of every day you have to be conscious of the virus, of the threat. Anything in-person is tiring, and sometimes Zoom theatre can feel lacking. Then you get back to your dorm and remember your family and loved ones, those you love who are immune compromised, and those who have already passed from the virus. So, you try to see what they’re doing on Facebook and are slammed in the face with a question of why you’re not creating your own Shakespeare masterpiece. Do you know why I’m not? It’s because I’m tired and existing is enough. I’m trying to remember to eat, to go to class, to memorize my work, to talk to my family, and care for my mental health.
I want to mention that one of the first things you’ll learn from therapy is to never compare your struggles to someone else’s because your struggles are valid. What this Shakespeare tidbit does is lessens the perceived appearance of your own problems during the pandemic and adds a layer of guilt for not being ‘productive enough.’ During COVID, stress has skyrocketed everywhere. So much so that the CDC has an entire webpage dealing with coping with stress. They warn of an overarching fear from your health or financial issues, worsening of any and all health problems, and an increased use of addictive substances. We’re all stressed and preoccupied with being.
So, when you see that meme please don’t share it. Those who make their livelihoods or personal happiness from theatre and the arts are struggling. There is no obligation to be creating masterpieces right now. Your only obligation is your health and sanity. Are you alive? Then check that box. Breathing? Check another. Eating and sleeping moderate amounts? There goes another few boxes to check. We’re living through trauma, be kind to yourself.
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