This made my day (and my partner’s). It feels lonely in the world most days. I have about 30% lung function (rare lung disease) so my life has been very bleak for… 4.25 years-ish? But when I see people like you, who have the power to influence others, consistently committed in word + deed to disabled people, I feel a moment of reprieve. Thanks for providing that, and I hope you get to enjoy the same today. ◡̈
There will never be enough words to express the anger and frustration of the repeated failings of our government and people in charge 🙃 feeling immensely grateful for your words and for the care individuals like you + others put out into the world.
really love this essay—thank you. i want to say that my mom is anemic, my sister and i (20 male) both have asthma, and my step-dad has high blood pressure. anybody and everybody judged me for doing school virtually, for still taking precautions to this day even tho covid is referred to in the past tense. even though we have all survived covid (some of us multiple times), it does not hurt to be precautious. i also took a death and dying class in college, and everything you said about people not wanting to confront their own morality is unequivocal. i think it's mostly because people are unsatisfied with the lives they have lived, so they wouldn't want to die. it's the reason why people make bucket lists of "things i must do before i die" or something with a similar ring. one thing my professor said that always stuck with me was why wait when you're dying when you can go out and do all of these amazing, life-changing things now? i'm actually thinking of writing my undergraduate honor's thesis on this topic given how little it is talked about, how passionate i am about it, and how much research there is to do for me. all love, and continue fighting <3
jensen, thank you so much for sharing this — i’m just as covid cautious as you are, and it can be difficult to engage with other creatives’ work when i know their reality does not even take people like us into account. thank you for sharing your experiences, covid cautious people in 2024 can be hard to find. if you’re ever playing a show in my neck of the woods, i’ll be in the front row in an n95 <3
Jensen, thank you so much for using your platform to share such an important perspective. I have been dealing with long Covid symptoms over the last couple of years and, as you are well aware, there is a lot of loneliness in feeling left behind to navigate and having to constantly advocate for my own safety due to lack of widespread precautions. Seeing you share your perspective and mask photos has helped me feel so much less alone (so has your music!) and I hope you are able to feel a bit of that today as well. Sending lots of love and solidarity
Thank you for sharing all this. I feel seen. I'm still taking pretty much all the same precautions you are and always wear a Powecom mask in indoor public places due to a few health conditions, including chronic hives. I try to take care of myself too by getting 8 hrs of sleep, eating healthy, and doing breathwork. It can be lonely and awkward but it helps knowing I'm not the only one! Hope to see you next time you're in San Diego or Orange County. I wish you all the best with your tour, music, and health 🧡
Thank you so much for sharing this. As someone who's been dealing with Long COVID, I feel you, and I'm so grateful that you're working as hard as you are to take care of yourself, because you and your art are such incredible gifts to the world.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my hands on a ticket to the show in Ridgefield tonight, but I've been thinking about having seen you in Portland in November with my bestie at little Polaris Hall, and telling her that the next time you were here, you were going to be playing in some enormous venue—and here you are with Noah Kahan. So excited for you and always rooting for you!
Thank you so much for your support! I'm so sorry to hear that you are dealing with Long COVID - I can't imagine the resilience and strength you must have to summon just to get through each day. My hope is that by continuing to talk about these issues, I can change enough hearts and minds to make more progress towards treatments, cures, and prevention.
I hope you get the chance to come to one of my shows next time I'm in town 🫶🏽
Thank you for your compassion and presence. I can't wait to see you on your next Portland go-around, and I'm sending you the best vibes tonight from south of the Washington-Oregon border!
PS. If you ever played The Old Church here in Portland, it would be the most spectacular event that's ever happened.
Thank you so much for writing and sharing this. It’s hard not to feel isolated and alone when you’re the only one ever wearing a mask anywhere. Also being relatively friendless in my 20s and trying to make friends whilst also being covid safe / being unable to eat out / drink / smoke is a pretty hefty task and it’s hard not to feel like it’s my fault. I so greatly appreciate you sharing a piece of what your life looks like being covid cautious - it’s definitely helped me feel less alone 💗
This made my day (and my partner’s). It feels lonely in the world most days. I have about 30% lung function (rare lung disease) so my life has been very bleak for… 4.25 years-ish? But when I see people like you, who have the power to influence others, consistently committed in word + deed to disabled people, I feel a moment of reprieve. Thanks for providing that, and I hope you get to enjoy the same today. ◡̈
There will never be enough words to express the anger and frustration of the repeated failings of our government and people in charge 🙃 feeling immensely grateful for your words and for the care individuals like you + others put out into the world.
really love this essay—thank you. i want to say that my mom is anemic, my sister and i (20 male) both have asthma, and my step-dad has high blood pressure. anybody and everybody judged me for doing school virtually, for still taking precautions to this day even tho covid is referred to in the past tense. even though we have all survived covid (some of us multiple times), it does not hurt to be precautious. i also took a death and dying class in college, and everything you said about people not wanting to confront their own morality is unequivocal. i think it's mostly because people are unsatisfied with the lives they have lived, so they wouldn't want to die. it's the reason why people make bucket lists of "things i must do before i die" or something with a similar ring. one thing my professor said that always stuck with me was why wait when you're dying when you can go out and do all of these amazing, life-changing things now? i'm actually thinking of writing my undergraduate honor's thesis on this topic given how little it is talked about, how passionate i am about it, and how much research there is to do for me. all love, and continue fighting <3
jensen, thank you so much for sharing this — i’m just as covid cautious as you are, and it can be difficult to engage with other creatives’ work when i know their reality does not even take people like us into account. thank you for sharing your experiences, covid cautious people in 2024 can be hard to find. if you’re ever playing a show in my neck of the woods, i’ll be in the front row in an n95 <3
Jensen, thank you so much for using your platform to share such an important perspective. I have been dealing with long Covid symptoms over the last couple of years and, as you are well aware, there is a lot of loneliness in feeling left behind to navigate and having to constantly advocate for my own safety due to lack of widespread precautions. Seeing you share your perspective and mask photos has helped me feel so much less alone (so has your music!) and I hope you are able to feel a bit of that today as well. Sending lots of love and solidarity
Thank you for sharing all this. I feel seen. I'm still taking pretty much all the same precautions you are and always wear a Powecom mask in indoor public places due to a few health conditions, including chronic hives. I try to take care of myself too by getting 8 hrs of sleep, eating healthy, and doing breathwork. It can be lonely and awkward but it helps knowing I'm not the only one! Hope to see you next time you're in San Diego or Orange County. I wish you all the best with your tour, music, and health 🧡
Thank you so much for writing about this !
Thank you so much for sharing this. As someone who's been dealing with Long COVID, I feel you, and I'm so grateful that you're working as hard as you are to take care of yourself, because you and your art are such incredible gifts to the world.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my hands on a ticket to the show in Ridgefield tonight, but I've been thinking about having seen you in Portland in November with my bestie at little Polaris Hall, and telling her that the next time you were here, you were going to be playing in some enormous venue—and here you are with Noah Kahan. So excited for you and always rooting for you!
Thank you so much for your support! I'm so sorry to hear that you are dealing with Long COVID - I can't imagine the resilience and strength you must have to summon just to get through each day. My hope is that by continuing to talk about these issues, I can change enough hearts and minds to make more progress towards treatments, cures, and prevention.
I hope you get the chance to come to one of my shows next time I'm in town 🫶🏽
Thank you for your compassion and presence. I can't wait to see you on your next Portland go-around, and I'm sending you the best vibes tonight from south of the Washington-Oregon border!
PS. If you ever played The Old Church here in Portland, it would be the most spectacular event that's ever happened.
Thank you so much for writing and sharing this. It’s hard not to feel isolated and alone when you’re the only one ever wearing a mask anywhere. Also being relatively friendless in my 20s and trying to make friends whilst also being covid safe / being unable to eat out / drink / smoke is a pretty hefty task and it’s hard not to feel like it’s my fault. I so greatly appreciate you sharing a piece of what your life looks like being covid cautious - it’s definitely helped me feel less alone 💗