Jessica Wheeler
Stories (3)
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WHAT IS R.E.S.T., REALLY?
RESTORE ENERGY SANS TECHNOLOGY. It was a dark, almost pitch-black room we were required to access from a narrow hall of digital artwork. I had been there many times before, but the exhibits change often, so it was different this time. On the right side was a clay-like sculpture of seemingly distressed men. On the other side were these tall digital panels, from which flickering white lights and white noise was intensely emitted. There were several words in plain, white, pixelated text rolling quickly up and down the screens. Occasionally, words would emerge in red—creating a stark sense of contrast.
By Jessica Wheeler4 years ago in Humans
The Highs & MerLOWS
She slammed her laptop shut after a long, virtual workday and grabbed a glass of ice-cold water. She couldn’t even recall which day it was; she just knew it was day one-hundred-and-something of being cooped up in her small, D.C. studio apartment for a government mandate that required everyone to “quarantine”—a term she had only previously heard in horror movies. She had been working from home, the new norm, for what seemed like forever at this point and each day seemed to bleed into the next. Although, the introverted, lone wolf side of her was enjoying being in quarantine, even if it wasn’t by choice. Still, like most others, she experienced bouts of cabin fever and anxiety, sometimes depression, knowing there was this mysterious, deadly virus going around that the world was struggling to contain. Some people had lost their jobs, others were dying, and she had recently moved into her own place, living alone for the first time in her life. Not having anyone physically there for consolation hit hard, but this stagnant, solitary state forced her to sit with her emotions and begin processing them, including the negative ones that persisted from her previous romantic relationship that ended over a year ago. She knew she had to remain positive and keep herself entertained in healthy ways. Fortunately, she had all of the resources on-hand to do so. She had equipment to exercise when she wanted to, several TV streaming subscriptions, books, art supplies, as well as plenty of food, alcohol, and toilet paper after stocking up. She was also granted the gift of time, allowing her to focus on her dog, Gatsby, and other things that had been previously neglected. One of those things was something she had subconsciously been avoiding for some time: dating.
By Jessica Wheeler5 years ago in Humans
