In our series of Stories From Lockdown, model Merrylin Boro navigates her life as it goes from being chaotic and where time was of the essence to feeling the dire need for familial connection and a reassessment of her priorities.
It’s been about three weeks since the country went into a complete lockdown and residents have been restricted to the confines of their homes; at least the ones privileged to have homes. It is this strata and their current condition that model Merrylin Boro identifies as a low point during the lockdown. “I see a lot of hardships around the world and there is this feeling of helplessness which is affecting me,” she says, adding that there is a silver lining to the entire situation. “Witnessing humanity throughout the world coming together to look after each other is really encouraging.”
Image Credit: Merrylin Boro
Boro attributes some of the positive experiences emerging from the lockdown to social media and how it has become a platform to keep people busy or to reach out to those in need. What was essentially a medium for trolls and negativity is now an important manner of bringing people together and Boro is all for it. “It seems like for the first time we see a lot of positive outreach and support on social media. Even the small gesture of reaching out to friends and neighbors to say hi and check how they are doing can mean a lot,” she says.
Not that Boro really needs reaching out to, she is grateful to have a partner with whom she can spend isolation. “I am able to spend uninterrupted time with my partner who is super motivated and fun, so that’s a positive for me,” she says. “It’s not very often that we get to just be still, reflect, and re-evaluate things,” she adds, reflecting on the need to strengthen bonds during a crisis. If you ask her, she’d want to run to go meet her parents or to at least get some of her favourite coffee right now, and she insists the positive outlook is something each one of us needs to choose. “You have to make the choice yourselves.”
Image Credit: Merrylin Boro
As Boro navigates life and the multiple unexpected turns it has taken in the recent past, she is sure of one thing never changing: “I am never going to take life for granted ever again.” And she says it all stems from “not being able to leave your home, not meeting friends and family, and just the uncertainty of when the lockdown will end.”
Image Credit: Merrylin Boro
Stories From Lockdown belong to everyone — the heroic healthcare workers on the frontlines, the content creators making isolation a little less insipid for all of us, the celebrities giving us a glimpse into their lives, the neighbourhood do-gooder who makes sure the less privileged are taken care of — and we’re here to tell those stories. Each one of these narratives deserves your attention and, while you’re at it, we encourage you to come forward and tell your own story. For this is the time to come together (albeit, virtually) and give each other a little more than just hope to cling on to.
Lead and Social Image Credit: Merrylin Boro
