"How has Covid-19 affected me?" by Michael Hicks Jr.
It continues to feel surreal that our whole country is being shut down. COVID-19 feels so distant, but I know it still affects me. It’s easy for me to believe that things will not get too out of hand, however, now I realize that’s not true. Day 29 of social distancing truly feels like more than 2-3 months have passed. Not sure when things will go back to “normal,” but I do continue to pray that it is sooner rather than a distant later. Before COVID-19, I was excited about opportunities that were ahead creatively. I was getting ready to work for an AAU team as a photographer and experience the circuit for the first time. Along with that, I was going to become a full-time photographer for the summer and take the first leap into being a full-time creative. So to say that I was excited about what was ahead is truly an understatement.
Going into social distancing and having to stay home, I wasn’t sure how this would affect my creative work. Thankfully, I have a day job working at a school so I didn’t have to worry about anything financially. However, that meant no more basketball games, no more portrait shoots, and that meant my camera sitting in a bag. So for the first 15 days, I did not touch my camera a single time. The most I did creatively was practice editing photos, but besides that, I did not shoot anything. To a degree, it felt strange, but at the moment, it was refreshing to have a break from it. It was the middle of the Illinois basketball state playoffs and I had been shooting three games a week, which I enjoyed. I knew I needed a break, and if I went straight into AAU, I wasn’t sure if I would get that. Being able to pause and stop is a good thing that is needed. I hate that I wasn’t able to continue shooting and haven’t in awhile. But I know that pausing and reflecting on it all was necessary. This was my first year shooting hoops, and it was a lot. During my time of reflection, I learned that I 100% love doing it with a passion. Also, I learned that I want to be able to provide services to athletes and businesses that are top quality using the art of photography. This is nothing short of a dream job for me, no doubt.
What have I been up to? Part of the day I work remotely from home calling students and parents. On the flip side of that, I play Call of Duty and NBA 2K, which I didn’t have much time for before. I also spend time on Skillshare learning photoshop/editing/graphic design. If you don’t know what Skillshare is, I highly recommend it; it’s a very helpful tool to learn. I finally picked up my camera and have recently been doing shoots of my shoes as well as a friend of mine. I’m a sneakerhead at heart and combining that with photography has been a blessing at this time. It has allowed me to do a little photography and that has been a healthy balance for now. I learned to focus on the positive right now during this quarantine and patiently wait for things to return to normal. Use your time wisely.
Through it all, I’m praying for the families and first responders that have contracted or been affected by COVID-19 immediately. I’m learning patience, reflecting a lot, and learning as much as I can until we return to “normal”. I’m not sure when or what that will look like but until then, I hope everyone works together to stay inside and not spread this disease. I do encourage everyone to remain hopeful and in doing so, playing their part to help. We will return to the norm someday and I’m preparing for it.
- Mike Hicks
Website: mikehicksvisuals.com
Instagram: @michaelhicksjr
Twitter: @MikeHicks22