Moving On

A year after a devastating pandemic hit the country, the people are stilling feeling the effects of the pandemic. It's been a long road. The country is not yet healed, but help is here, help has always been here, the people have showed that during the pandemic and after the pandemic.

Riley, a free spirited young woman survived the pandemic. She is one of the lucky ones, not many people can say that.

Riley is one of those people who made a difference. She helped those who needed help, lift the spirits of the front line workers including her sister.

Riley loved doing all these things, but she suffered as well. Riley couldn't do the things she loved. Riley couldn't teach, she couldn't continue with her art and writing classes, and she couldn't visit her family. Like with all things Riley didn't sit around her apartment and sulk. Riley went out and made things happen.

During the pandemic Riley went out of her way to help her neighbors, she would buy groceries for them, medicine and other things they needed. Riley continues to do that one year later.

Although the country is returning to normal businesses, restaurants, schools, parks have begun to open and life is coming back to the people, there are those who are still feeling the effects of the pandemic.

Riley is among those who are still feeling the effects of the pandemic and is finding it very hard to move on. she tries to do normal things like everyone else is doing, but Riley is finding it hard for herself. For the last year Riley has been helping others, but along the way Riley forgot about herself.

Riley forgot to take minute and breathe. she forgot that a pandemic is raging. she forgot that thousands of people lost their lives and now everything that has happened in the last year is hitting Riley. She didn't expect this to happen. Riley has been doing good for the people, but not for herself.

Riley doesn't know how to get out of this funk. She doesn't know how to move on when everyone around her is moving on. So Riley does what Riley always does she makes things happen.

Early the next morning Riley takes her dog noodle out for a walk. Riley goes back to Central Park for the first time in a year.

Central Park has always been a place of refuge for Riley where she can go and be free and that's what Riley needs right now. Riley needs to be Riley and not the dependable Riley that everyone needs her to be.

Riley takes noodle on a long walk. They run together, play together and sit together. Riley forgot how much fun it is to be outside enjoying the weather, playing with noodles and just being herself.

Riley spends the next week alone with noodle trying to rediscover who she is. Riley is making progress. Riley has resumed her art and writing classes and resumed teaching. The kids have all missed Riley and Riley missed them as well. Riley has been talking to her sister who is nurse and her sister has been telling her all about the progress her patients are making. Riley's sister Avery has thanked her for all that she has done for people like her. This makes Riley smile.

This is only the beginning for Riley. She is still finding it hard to forget the last year, all the pain she saw, the grief, playing with noodle has brought something out in Riley that she didn't have have the past year and that is hope. Hope that there are better days to come. Hope that the pandemic is not going to last and hope that she will be able to hug her family.

Riley in her own words

"What a year it has been. A pandemic hit this country, one that took many lives, one that no one saw coming. I didn't see it coming. Who could have possibly thought anything like this would happen, but it did and it changed everybody's lives including my own.

I had a busy year helping my neighbors with whatever they needed. I made encouraging signs for the front line workers. The signs made them happy and loved, but the one person I forgot about was me.

I lost my passion for art and writing. I lost myself. The effects of the pandemic didn't hit me until now when I saw people recovering and moving on.

I didn't know how much I would lose over the last year and it seems everyone is moving on expect me. Me being me and as I did during the pandemic I didn't sit around and sulk. I make things happen.

I took noodle to Central Park for a walk, to run and just to have fun. I missed this being outside having fun and not worrying about anything else.

After my day in Central Park I realized that I need to take baby steps to rediscover my identity, to rediscover who I am as a person. Nobody said this is going to be easy, but if I truly want to move on from this past year then I need to be me, to be who I always am and that is Riley Moreno and once I discover who I am then I can truly move on.

Over the next week I spend my time with noodle rediscovering who I am. I resumed taking art and writing classes and have begun teaching again, remotely that is. I missed seeing all the beautiful smiling faces of my kids. Teaching them is amazing.

I have been spending time talk with my sister Avery who is a nurse. She has been telling me the progress her patients are making and she also thanked me for the signs that I made. They really helped lift the spirits of the workers.

My sisters words have really lifted me up knowing that I made the front line workers happy makes me happy and knowing that I can make a difference in the lives of people is satisfying.

Hearing that I'm not the only have a hard time moving on is kind of a relief for me, but it also makes me sad. Sad that people still have to go through a rough patch, but as long as there are people helping each other than there is hope at the end of the tunnel and there is hope for me.