My career first began at the age of 14 when I started a side business focused on printing and graphic design. From a young age, I loved the hustle of working and seeing what I could do to grow in my craft. Now, I run my own shop and graphic design business all these years later.
Professional experience and hustle will carry a person pretty far, but in 2020 we faced circumstances that no one was prepared for. Something changed for me when Covid-19 first arrived. I realized that the pandemic was influencing business in a big way. Pushing aside fear for my own business, I decided to look at the outbreak as an opportunity to improve myself. With so many people struggling, I knew that I needed to work harder and really push past my limits.
Enter Covid-19
I still remember that week in March of 2020 as if it were yesterday. It was a Sunday in March when a bartender handed me my drink and said, “Enjoy it, my brother, we are going into a lockdown starting tomorrow.” Initially, I didn't worry much, but that changed when I started paying attention to the media.
The following day, my worry began to settle in. I remember my brother-in-law coming home from work feeling ill. He decided to take a Covid-19 test and quarantine himself to be safe. The next day, we got the news that he had, in fact, tested positive for the virus. At that moment, it all felt too real.
Trying to keep everything under control drained me mentally. Regardless, I had to find a way to turn that fear into strength. The coverage of deaths and devastation tore through neighborhoods and families, reaching us only through the news and social media.
Out of nowhere, my sister started to feel sick. I was left with no choice but to take care of her, and it wasn’t long before I started feeling ill. I felt like I was in the twilight zone mentally. Physically, the body aches were unbearable. I suffered from shortness of breath, loss of taste and smell with no type of appetite. This ordeal lasted an excruciating two weeks.
Read More at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/378201