By Hannah Flores

Description: I love to travel, and I am deeply saddened that I will be stuck at home for a while, so I incorporated some footage from my travels throughout the film. Being born in the height of the SARS outbreak, having lived through the Ebola crisis and now living in the Covid-19 pandemic has given me a unique perspective on human behaviour patterns in health-related epidemics. It has further fueled my passions for global health and neuroscience.

My poem suggests that as Covid-19 continues to envelope the lives of people across the globe, we must not lose ourselves in the process. We need to practice social distancing, but we cannot socially distance ourselves from each other’s humanity.

About the author:

Hannah Flores is a 17-year-old award-winning spoken word artist and filmmaker from Canada, attending Markham District High School. She is a community leader, advocating for youth, equity and social change. Inspiring thousands, Flores has acquired international audiences and continues amplifying marginalized voices. She founded and hosts the podcast: Punchline! with hannahfloresthepoet, providing a platform for youth to express themselves, and runs a YouTube channel: hannafloresthpoet, where she releases original films based off of her poetry.