Entry 8 - Thirty-Six Cigarettes, by Sierra Patterson

Sierra Patterson (@sisi_mac_patt) is a Hickory native and an enthusiastic (albeit slightly impoverished) MFA Creative Nonfiction student with a long-time love of storytelling. She believes some of the best stories take place right here in our own little, un-special, worlds. She hopes to spend her life exploring and uncovering those stories within herself and others as a way to shine light on the extraordinary that is hidden in all of us.

This project is a reflection on my personal struggle with shame-based isolation and how it has bled into the precaution/fear-based isolation we are collectively experiencing in the face of COVID-19. I wanted to explore the links between shame, fear, anxiety, and regret in myself in a way that was accessible to people who are feeling the same pain as a result of their own decisions or circumstances.