--Disclaimer: This story will touch on matters of anxiety and depression that may be a bit intense for some readers.--
Hello there! My name is Alexandra Langley, but you can call me Ally. Welcome back to my Flute Website. More importantly, welcome back to my Flute Blog, "Secrets from a Flutists". This is the place where I will share my flute secrets, musician insights, and fun stories from my life with all of you!
As I said before, welcome back to my blog. I apologize for the year-long hiatus from my blog. Life took over and I need to focus on it first. I will update you on my life next blog. In the meantime, this is my return to the blog. Today I will be talking about my COVID-19 quarantine experiences one year later (both through music and storytelling). I will tell you the story here and musically tell you on my Youtube Channel. I will talk about my feelings, mental health, musical goals and accomplishments, and the lessons I have learned over the last year.
Farwell
March 2020 was the beginning of unexpected endings. All of my classes transitioned to online learning. My time in the UNT Wind Orchestra ended. My Senior Recital was canceled. I moved back home. I wasn’t going to walk in my Graduation Ceremony. I said goodbye to UNT too soon. I said goodbye to my friends too soon. I wasn’t going to be able to travel and see my best friend for a while. Everyone’s anxiety about getting sick and what will happen next skyrocketed (mine included). I knew it was for our health's sake. I was more than willing to do it as it meant keeping all of us safe. I also knew it was not a permanent situation. However, I won’t lie. It was devastating to say farewell to everything I knew.
Dreams
After Quarantine began, my days changed. I was in the house all day. I was going to school online for the rest of my undergraduate years. I couldn’t hug my friends. I couldn’t perform in the concerts originally planned. All the news coming out about what’s new with COVID was scary. My anxiety and depression were beginning to rise. Despite all of it, there was a silver lining for my craft. Since I was home and had a little more time on my hands, I could finally execute the projects I had dreams of doing. I launched my own website! I held the beautiful Senior Recital of my dreams with the safety precautions in place! I became more active in holding more recitals. I joined the international Virtual Concert Band as a flutist and got a chance to play an ensemble again. I made more series and multi-tracks I never thought I would make on YouTube. I become more active in interacting with everybody who supports my music. I’m proud that I bit the bullet and made these dreams a reality despite the circumstances. Even though it can’t happen the original way, it can still happen with some adjustments and flexibility.
Loneliness
Time continued on. I held my beautiful Senior Recital. I graduated from UNT with my Bachelor’s Degree in Flute Performance and Summa Cum Laude Honors. My family and I were still healthy and doing our part. As time went on, the adrenaline of the big accomplishments waned and the quarantine circumstances finally started setting in. It was at this point when I realized how lonely I felt while Quarantining. I missed being able to hang out with friends and give them bear hugs. I’m thankful we have technology so we can call, text, and video chat together. However, it isn’t the same as actually spending time with friends in person. I was sad I couldn’t travel to see my best friend or my family. That loneliness contributed to the depression and the fear I was feeling from the Quarantine. I will be honest it was a big struggle to overcome. I long for the day where I can hug my best friend, my friends, my family again.
Gratitude
Since we have entered 2021, we have made bigger strides to take care of each other and work hard to get back to normal one day at a time. I’ve realized there is a lot to be thankful for. I’m thankful that my family and best friend remained healthy for the most part during this time. I’m thankful to have the ability to continue my music in other ways and do what I’m passionate about to lift other people’s spirits. I’m thankful for all the nurses and workers on the front lines continuing their services to keep us going. I’m thankful for being able to stay connected with my friends no matter the distance. I’m thankful for learning to be adaptable and flexible. I’m thankful for the Lord continues to give us strength and peace amongst the chaos in the world. There still is beauty in the world among the trials. Those are the biggest lessons I’ve learned during the time in quarantine.
Legend
Now that we are in March 2021, a lot has changed in one year. There was a lot of pain and fear. However, there is also a lot to be thankful for. Now we are in the realm of getting our COVID vaccines and slowly but surely getting back to normal. It isn’t over yet but we are getting closer. I will continue to take my precautions until it’s time. Once we reach the end of the pandemic, we can tell the legends and stories that we made it through. I will describe all of us as legends because we banded together and took care of each other no matter what. You are a legend!
Best Wishes
Thank you for watching this series. I’m proud of sharing my story with you. I hope I could inspire you in any way of making it through this year-long quarantine. As we get closer to the end, I send you all of my best wishes. I know you will make it to the end with strength, peace, and a new appreciation for our lives, friends, family, and fun stuff. May God bless you!
Here’s my playlist of “A Quarantined Flutist” of this story told through music:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7kcDQ3MQyKL17oC9BpqQi3vy1J5XkfJk
This concludes my honest quarantine story one year later. Thank you so much for reading. I hope you learned something new from me through my experience. Let me know how you are feeling during quarantine and how I could help you at all. I'd love to know! Remember that we are in this together and we will make it through! It will take some time but we will come out of this fire. We are getting closer to the vaccines. Hang in there! Please subscribe to my blog to read new secrets from this flutist! I will see you next time!
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