As the world heads towards a global pandemic, we are all forced to sit here and do our part in quarantine to stop the spread of COVID-19. When the first outbreak of this virus happened in China, I was not very worried about the impact it would have on me. I mean, how could a disease on the other side of the world affect my health and daily life in any way? However, as it started to spread and come closer to where I live, I began feeling anxious for effects it would have in my life. This virus has led to major changes in my life that I could never forget.
As a result of the highly contagious nature of this virus, many schools started to shut down and move to an online platform. This new schooling required an adjustment to how my daily life looks. My usual day would consist of going to classes, eating lunch, and then going to work. But now, my day consists of going to the couch, eating lunch in my kitchen, and then going to my room to continue doing school work. I am very fortunate that all of my professors have been flexible, supportive, and understanding of their students because that has definitely made this transition much easier.
Since the transition to online classes, I learned a few things about myself. While being stuck at home for the past few weeks, I actually miss college a lot and I wish that I could go back and finish out my first year strong. I took for granted how much freedom I had while in Maine than in Connecticut: the freedom to go where ever, whenever I wanted to, without having to ask for permission from my parents. I love being home, don’t get me wrong, but the aspects of being independent and having full autonomy over my life and my decisions have helped me grow as a person. Since being home, I am not allowed to go anywhere because of the quarantine, so I am stuck in my house all day long with nothing to do except for school work. How I wish I could take just one more walk down the beach after a long day of classes.
My family has also been affected by the Coronavirus. My oldest sister, Caitlin, works in the medical field and in the front line of this disease. She is a nurse at Harford Hospital in Connecticut’s capital. Caitlin works in the intensive care unit at the hospital but ever since the virus reached Connecticut, her unit has been converted into the COVID-19 ward for all positive cases in Hartford County. The transition to this has led her to face many challenges in her job, from constantly changing health protocols to the lack of available medical resources. For four nights in a row, she was required to wear a different combination of masks, face shields, and gloves each night. The only protection between her and the sick patient is a mask that may or may not prevent the virus from infecting her. During one of her shifts, she grabbed a mask to see a patient and when she turned around, the box of masks were gone because someone stole it. Caitlin is genuinely scared to go to work because she is directly interacting with those who tested positive for COVID-19. As a result of her working in close proximity, she had to cancel Easter dinner as to not continue the spread of the virus because she was supposed to host it at her house. After hearing about all that she is going through, I realized how close this virus was to home. I was forced to face reality and accept that coronavirus was here and it is going to affect my day to day life.
Similar to Caitlin, my mom is also nurse. However, she is retired and cannot help in the same capacity as my sister. The coronavirus can be deadly for the elderly and those who are immunocompromised. My mom is immunocompromised and she is older. As a result of this she has not left the house since the virus has been in Connecticut. However, she still has a desire to help people in the community. One of her favorite hobbies is sewing and she is using this to create CDC recommended masks. By using social media, a lot of people started asking for masks. My mom spent a week straight sewing these masks and is still making more. Most of the people she made these masks for are home nurses because they are not provided with masks by their employer. Another reason why she decided to make these was to help decrease the amount of fear in people. There are so many people that are scared to go out of their house and worried that they will get so sick that they might die.
Throughout the entire transition from living at school in Maine to living back in Connecticut, quarantined in my own home, I have learned many things about myself, my family, and my community. I have learned to appreciate the simple things in life and take things one day at a time. Seeing people help each other out during the hard time and giving encouragement to those in need, has helped me cope with what the world is dealing with. With all of the job loss, closed businesses, and health professionals in the hospital doing what they can, the only way we can all help is by staying home to decrease the risk of spreading the virus to those who are most likely at risk. Stay safe and practice social distancing!
