If You Didn't Have a Pandemic Project, You Felt Like You Were Missing Out-- Here's Mine

A list of my pandemic projects from the beginning

Photo n'y author

At the start of the pandemic, everyone moved to virtual learning but I was already ahead of the game. I was halfway into my bachelor's degree in mass communication online at the University of Arizona Global Campus and was becoming weary of nights of binge studying. The pandemic just started and we were all stuck at home. I was craving to do something different, so the moment the stores opened up I went to the local craft store and bought some art supplies to make acrylic paintings that I would have wanted to eventually sell. I never knew how to do freelance painting but it was a long shot and I got started.

I mostly painted landscapes of my trip to Puerto Rico back in 2015 and 2016. The Viejo San Juan town is so vibrant in color and architecture that I wanted to capture it in acrylic. To this day, I still recall that trip to El Morro where I stood atop the fortress looking out into the horizon above the seashore. It was a beautiful view from the hill above and many Puerto Ricans like to make a trip to the fortress as a recognition to their cultural identity.

I also painted a picture of the Volcano Arenal from San Carlos Costa Rica. My father used to take my brother and me on mission trips to the jungle where the people are as warm and welcoming as the weather. The volcano is semi-active and still rumbles on occasion. The last known eruption was in 1960 when it awoke the town in a landslide. I used a photograph as recommended by a local from the church to make this painting and I think it turned out nicely.

When I realized I wasn't going to get very far with the paintings I turned to blogging. I started countless blogs on Blogger but wasn't getting any traffic so I started to look to guest blogging. The acceptance fees were worth a pretty penny but then suddenly someone recommended Medium to me to build an audience. I didn't think much of it at first but after another person made the same recommendation I gave the platform a try and committed to a year-long membership to start writing on the platform in October 2021. Since then, I have amassed 500 followers and written about 100 articles in various topics including art, life, and photography that you can see here.

From there I read about the importance of building an audience that you can take with you. A tribe of raving fans who love to read your work and support your writing. It is so much more economical than speaking into the void that is social media when you can collect the emails of those who love what you have to say and build a community of followers who appreciate what you do. So I started a Substack to compliment my writing on Medium and hope to build an audience throughout the year.

My last pandemic project is a book that I'm currently writing. I have a few books in the works but one that I started near the beginning is an autobiography and it will be very interesting as I have been through a lot in my short years on this earth. I would also like to write a novel that I also started but never finished. A Christian romance novel about a young man lost at sea. It should be interesting once I finish with my autobiography.

Do you have any pandemic projects? Have you started anything that you would like to finish? Don't feel bad if you didn't contribute anything. The best ideas come to those who wait.

Thanks again for reading.