By Rosie Cisneros
In January of 2020, before the announcement of the stay-at-home order, I was able to take a trip with my dad to Guatemala. We had booked our flights earlier in 2019. I remember the feeling of exhilaration, to be able to finally spend time together. One memory that stood out to me the most was when my dad and I went out to eat and later my dad and I stopped by a pastry shop and he bought an entire cheesecake for the two of us. After that we went back to our house and binged on movies and cheesecake for the rest of the day. At the time I remember thinking how comforting it was to share that moment with him without any interruptions, needless to say we did not share that often.
Fast forward to March 2020 and the announcement of the stay at home order. My dad invited me to quarantine with him in the suburbs and I decided to do so. During our time in quarantine one of the things that I was reminded of was my love for music. Growing up, my family was a big fan of Los Panchos, Julio Iglesias, Juan Luis Guerra, Armando Manzanero and many more musicians. In our time of leisure during quarantine my dad and I would spend it watching movies and music videos. I say this lightly when I say that in some sort of way the pandemic was partially a blessing in disguise it brought my dad and I together, and it also helped slow things down. Before the stay at home order my life for the most part has always been fast paced and now looking in retrospect, the pandemic has reminded me to be kind to myself, to enjoy the company of my loved ones and the sound of music.
