Power in the Pandemic: Osaze Akil
Osaze Akil
Artist & Urban Planner
Atlanta, GA
Describe your original response to COVID
I feel like I am an optimistic person and so at first, I thought I was going to be fine. Then it shifted to disappointment because I had a lot of plans and things just started to get canceled. I felt hopeless because I didn't have any control over what was going on -- and generally, I like to have a good grasp over what was going on. ESPECIALLY when we work so hard for security and all that is stripped from you. I felt like I didn't have a solid grasp on what the next day would look like and each ounce of new information brought more uncertainty.
Was there a moment or clear shift in the way you responded to the pandemic?
Mid-April I reached a point where I was really stressed so I went home to be with my family. Prior to this I would still see my family weekly but I hadn't really spent the time. This made me think of communal responsibility -- and the responsibility to keep one another safe. Having my family with me really made me realize that all of this was much bigger than the pandemic.
At the beginning of 2020, I went to Benin, Togo, and Ghana and came back with so much inspiration for my art. This storm was so timely because it gave me more time to develop my website and allowed me to plan for what I was believing for. Prior to the pandemic, I knew of what God had promised me and this storm really showed me that He will never go back on His promises to us.
Talk to one or some of your proudest moments during the pandemic
Whew, thats a hard question because I have been proud of myself for a lot of things. God has been very very very very good to me these last couple of months. I have not wanted for anything.
I am just proud of the foresight. I hadn't had a lot of orders coming in but God told me they were coming and I listened to that.
If you want to be blessed in a certain way, put yourself in position to receive that blessing -- and that has truly been one of the greatest takeaways from the last couple of months.
Describe how you’re feeling right now in one word
Grateful. I have been waking up every morning with an overwhelming sense of gratefulness. I just know that things could have gone in so many different ways but GOD.