I talked with my brother, Jonathan Griffin, with the intent to get an idea of how he feels about traveling internationally in the midst of Covid-19. He accepted a teaching position earlier this year in the city of Fréjus to teach the English language for the school year. No one had a clue what the year would bring, but an obligation must be fulfilled. He left on his birthday, October 13, for his new adventure, but before he left, he agreed to let me interview him. We talked about Covid-19, but our conversation went into so many different directions that I got so much more out of it. I listened to him and took different pieces of our long talk, condensing it into a story-like excerpt that turned out to be a great lesson about life.
“You get used to saying Jacksonville. When you tell people you live in Orange Park, no one knows what you are talking about. The second you say Jacksonville, the bells start to go off and the DUVAL chants begin (go Jaguars). In reality, depending on where in the city you are going, Jacksonville is about twenty or thirty minutes (excluding traffic!) from Orange Park, but I did everything there: doctor appointments, school, work and so on. So, I got used to saying Jacksonville. However, despite what I said to prevent confusion, I knew that at the end of the day I would be making the long drive, in rush hour traffic, back home. Back to Orange Park. It’s fine though. I never mind the drive, I kind of like it.
I learned early on that if you need to get somewhere that means anything to you, you have to be willing to make the drive. When I was younger, it was the drive to school, and then the one back home: two places I needed to be. But as I am getting older, I am realizing the drive can be a constantly evolving metaphor for other things in life. The drive represents the barrier between you and where you are trying to go, literally and metaphorically. I guess my current drive is COVID-19. When you ask me if I am scared to travel internationally, I would say yes, but not for one sole reason. The pandemic is obviously on my list of concerns, but I know how to be smart about it. I imagine life in France is not much different than life in the United States. There are differences in case numbers, but when I allude to similarities, I mean in terms of how people are living. People are wearing masks and, ideally, social distancing. I think anyone would be hesitant to travel during these times, but because I am aware of the severity of the situation, I will continue to take the necessary precautions to safely exist.
I feel like life comes down to determining what your drive is and deciding if you are willing to overcome it. Although I graduated from college in May (virtually) and now officially have my degree in psychology, my passion for seeing and learning about different people and cultures does not stop after four years. I am excited to continue to pursue my interests and live in France! It’s an opportunity that does not arrive at everyone’s doorstep and because it landed on mine, I am making the conscious choice to not allow circumstances beyond my control to dampen this experience. I feel like I should emphasize, again, that with that being said, I take the pandemic seriously and am being smart about it. I’m just not letting it halt my life completely.”
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