The Pandemic has created a world that until a few months ago seemed dystopian. In a world where human contact is limited, so much has happened and changed not just politically, but personally. I started college, which was much different from what I ever thought it would be. I had to wear a mask, things were closed, and football games were only on the television. Penn State worked hard to make it work as did other schools, though some not as successfully, and a strange routine became commonplace. I would have class online when the classrooms where siting empty not a five-minute walk from my room. But everyone did their best, and in a world that seemed to stand still for me the larger scheme of things kept moving. An already polarized political society began to crack at the seams, with protests and riots and a questioning of the political system that the country has relied upon for so long. I feel like the world that we knew before the pandemic will not return.  

When I say this, I don’t mean that I think we won’t return to in person activities, because I do, but I mean that the problems that the pandemic has   uncovered will not go away. The struggles of the working class, the distrust of the political system, and the corrupt healthcare network that let so many falls through the cracks will be at the front of everyone’s minds. This leads me to question where we go next. I believe that under the new administration things can change for the better. With the appearance of a vaccine there is hope of returning to activities that we took for granted, but that is just the beginning. The reforms that need to happen start with a government that can push for change, and to do this we as a people must continue to protest and make our voices heard. We must push for climate justice, a reform of the justice system, and so much more. The funny thing to me is the change we have seen during this pandemic has been greater than the past few years. I truly believe that large scale change is on the horizon and I hope it is for the better.  

So, when I am asked what civic activities have come up during the pandemic, I think of the political and societal change that everyone has been pushing for. It is important to remember that much of this has happened before the pandemic, a push for change is not new but it has been in the front of everyone’s minds in a way that it hasn’t in a very long time. I have hope for the future. The Biden administration has many promises, and I would like to think that they can keep all of them, but I will have to see what the future holds. For now, I think it is important for all of us to keep speaking up, change won’t happen without that. The pandemic has changed lives forever, but how we deal with the repercussion will be very important to the identity of the country.