#mayorsfund

By Aisosa Ugiagbe

Hey look, I caught a Pikachu~!!

As you know I'm a nerd. A huge flaming nerd. And I'll say that with my chest until the day that I die. Last weekend was the London MCM comic con. An event where thousands of other nerds (I mean fans) get together to enjoy and celebrate comic books, anime, manga, video games, film, TV shows - all different forms of creative media. There's nothing quite like it. The feeling of knowing that you're surrounded by people who love the same things you do, with the same intensity and passion that you have... It's simply beautiful.

These guys cosplayed as Metal Gear Solid characters Revolver Ocelot, Naked Snake, Sniper Wolf! Good stuff!

In fact I can say wholeheartedly that it re-energized my love for creative media and the community surrounding it. "Why do you say that?" You may be asking. Well, I'll tell you why. You see, being on the internet partaking in discussions on various topics within the realm of creative media is a staple activity for a nerd. But due to the inherently anonymous nature of the internet, discussions between passionate fans can quickly turn into arguments which can quickly...turn into all-out flame wars. When you bear witness to these day in day out, you can end up a bit...jaded. You start to think that maybe it's better if you kept your interests to yourself. Because Fandoms be trippin'. But then you go to a convention, meet with a buttload of fans in the flesh, have wonderful chats (filled with in-jokes and memes that you don't have to explain because they're not total normies), and then suddenly all is right with the world and those annoying encounters you had on the internet in the past cease to bother you as much. Being part of a Fandom can be amazing.

laughing with Tidus from Final Fantasy X. Aaaahahahahaha!

At first, I wasn’t sure what to write or do for this question. I struggled with what to come up with, as I didn’t feel like I did much since quarantine started. So instead, I written a list of anything I did including shows I watched. I noticed there were a few hobbies I’ve rediscovered like animating, photography and even gaming. I’ve learned new skills as well, from starting a business to how to make a podcast and filming.

However, one thing I’d like to talk about here is being more self-aware of my body. Around March I discovered a lump on my breast, it wasn’t cancerous thankfully, but still a hard lump so my thoughts were all over the place. I managed to get an appointment to the doctors at the end of March. They did a thorough check-up and since I showed no signs of the other symptoms, they were able to rule out cancer. They did still refer me to the hospital so I could find out the cause.

Due to covid19, I didn’t get an appointment until June. I was told I would have the appointment by the end of the week but it never happened. Although it was fine, as I understood why, I just couldn’t help but overthink the worst outcomes in my head. Some days I forgot about it, other days I was panicking and stressing. I was in pain whenever I slept on my side, as it was very sensitive. It wasn’t until at the end of May that the pain started subsiding and I felt like myself again.

At the 1st June I got a call from the hospital asking if I’d be free for an appointment that week. I went in on the Thursday calm and stress free as I was no longer worried. If anything, they struggled to find where the lump was as I no longer felt the pain. Nevertheless, they still found it. I’ve waited a couple hours and they told me it wasn’t anything serious. Rather it would heal overtime and that lumps was normal considering my age. Despite this, I was still shaken up from everything. I was worried about it for so long and I finally found my answer. Before I left, the doctor gave me a leaflet to help distinguish breast pain. Even having a mini calendar to mark off how long the pain had started. I took it upon myself to read and learn the differences, one thing I know for sure however. NEVER RELY ON GOOGLE!

What worries me and what brings me joy in this time? 

I woke up in the morning,

Everything had changed,

No more meeting friends and family,

It all felt so strange!

  I wondered what was going to happen next,

My worry started to begin,

So much uncertainty,

I was not going to let this feeling win!

  As much as did not want to be anxious,

I could not let this feeling go,

How will this virus affect my friends and family?

I started to feel low.

  Is my work good enough?

How long was lockdown going to last?

What do people really think of me?

These are all the questions I asked.

  I thought what should I do?

How do I stop worrying in the day?

Do things that bring me joy,

That’s what my family would say!  

  What makes me happy?

Hearing all the birds singing in the trees,

Walking my dog in the park,

Makes me feel really at ease.

  What brings me joy,

Has to be baking,

Cake, biscuit, bread,

Also, cheesecake making.

  I love to watch TV,

At the end of the day,

Comedy, drama, lifestyle shows

It helps my worries go away.

  Lockdown is finally coming to end,

Its rather been a strange time,

I can’t wait to see my friends and family,

I’m so grateful we are all fine!

  What’s the future hold? No one knows,

Well done to everyone who’s helped each other,

For the first task of this page, I’m suppose to answer the question, “What have I discovered during the corona virus pandemic?” and after thinking about how to go about answering this, I came to the conclusion that for me, it was less about what I discovered and more about what I re-discovered.

For instance, when I had to clear out the spare room, there were a bunch of old books that needed to be sorted out. Within some of those old books were a lot of crosswords puzzles, some of which had pages that hadn’t been finished yet. So naturally i did a few and wound up finishing the book, and threw it away since it was keeping up space. I enjoyed it so much, that i downloaded a crossword app on my phone and play it from time to time.

Furthermore, there were a bunch of Maya Angelou books we had to sort out as well. Some of them are in the loft, a few were sold to eBay many moons ago and the rest I managed to liberate and are now occupying a corner of my room. I read a few chapters of her book “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” but it didn’t keep my attention for very long.