Our corona diary.

[Text and photo by Nilofar]

I close my eyes in self isolation from corona… and I see myself. Not self-obsessed, just on an eternal quest to find myself. 26 years of being trapped in this body. But who am I? Is it possible to still not know? Must I necessarily find myself? Must I do that in one lifetime ?

I start with the easy things. What are the most regular parameters of human identification?

Gender?

Religion?

Ethnicity?

Nationality?

Occupation?

But how does one stick to an absolute answer to each of the above? What a boring way to live life if you ask me. My life is like a movie. I am the producer, director, crew and lead actor. Everyone else is just passing by. I end up casting the ones I like, make them linger around, give them the supporting roles. Some have stood the test of time and stayed on. They chose to see my heart. Most of my side-kicks leave though. It’s exhausting to keep up with the many versions of me.

“Who will she wake up to be today”, they ask?

I open my eyes and realize I am limitless. I don’t want to know who I am. Not just yet. I love being in these movies.

“We the Isolationists” series urges folks from any part of the world to share a brief diary starting with “I close my eyes in my self-isolation from Corona… and I see…” Not more than 100 words. With a horizontal-sized selfie, along with your city name… please mail to me at mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.