The year was 2020. The world went insane due to an unprecedented pandemic. Most lives were affected in one way or another.
Here in Canada, everything besides essential services had to shut down. I was isolated in my condo with nowhere to go. I was fortunate to be able to work from home to keep busy. I could not go downstairs to swim or workout at our gym. I could not go to the local bars to socialize with my friends. There was nothing to do besides work and sleep.
I am thankful that our company was able to transition to working from home. Some of my friends were not so lucky. Their workplaces had to shut down completely. There is no way to transition all jobs to work from home. Some of my friends left the country to return to their families.
The days that followed are now referred to by me as the “Dark Days”. Those days were all-around awful for me and several of my friends. I fell into a deep state of depression.
Depression had me wondering if it was worth suffering through the isolation when in fact we had no idea if it would ever end. I started having dark thoughts. I told myself that if the rest of my life had to be lived this way, I might not want to continue living.
During those weeks, outside of work, I watched more videos on YouTube than ever before. I was able to live vicariously through the YouTube presenters. Watching videos from other countries which was not as severely affected or locked down saved me from going insane.
I enjoyed every moment brought to my screens by the various players in the YouTube community. I would like to thank the wonderful hosts who have brought information and joy to my life since before the pandemic, during the pandemic, and today.
These YouTubers taught me a lot about the Motherland and allowed me to explore virtually. The experience increased my hunger for travel and learning about my ethnicity. We were shown the Africa that mainstream Western media does not want us to see.
Please take some time to visit these channels hosted by incredible people.
- Tayo Aina
- Wode Maya
- Virtue Grace
- Ludo Liu
- African Tigress
- Eboh Media
- Bayo Adio
- Tolu Nazzal
- Iamgbolahan
- Wowneche
- Steven Ndukwu
I would like to thank each and every one of these wonderful people for helping me get through those Dark Days.
An honorable mention goes out to a new YouTuber, one whose channel did not exist during the Dark Days. This young lady is on her way to becoming a fantastic videographer and journalist. Please check out Lateefah Mayaki‘s channel for some excellent stories and reports on life in Lagos, Nigeria.