I remember first seeing a news article in January while sat in my dorm. It was seen as something minor, something happening in another country. It transitioned into videos on my Instagram showing the people of Wuhan quarantined in their apartments. The virus showed more frequently in the news when we came back to campus after winter break and right before Lunar New Year. I knew this was a time for people to travel and I grew worried since airports are a haven for sickness to spread, but like everyone else, I hoped for the best.
When cases started being reported in the UK that’s when I said to myself, “yeah, it’s coming to the United States”. It was inevitable. The thing is, I still didn’t take precautions. Many of us didn’t. THON still happened. Penn State continued to operate. CATA buses were still full. You couldn’t blame us since our political leaders didn’t pay attention to it until quite frankly the beginning of this month, and the crackdown mass hysteria didn’t ensue until the weekend we were supposed to return from break. And actually, the night before I traveled home, Maryland’s governor announced three cases were near me and it’s gone up since.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan confirming three cases of Coronavirus in Montgomery County on March 5, 2020.
So here we are, March 24th 2020. Over 44,000 cases in the United States that we know of and over 500 deaths with both numbers expected to rise. This past month has turned the country upside down. My parents and many other parents around the country come home with groceries more often than they used to, make sure you’re logged in to class on time, and our entire conversation surrounds the virus. We can’t even help it.
Park family residence. Parasite (2019), dir. Bong Joon-ho.
My friend and I were reading Jane Austen’s Emma in preparation to see the new film released in February. We also wanted to see Pixar’s Onward and rewatch Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite since we’ve been wanting to ever since we saw it in January. However, as the virus grew, we rainchecked but eventually canceled our plans. We don’t know when we will be able to see each other again face to face or watch those films, but we have FaceTime and the Parasite score, so we’ll be just fine (Side note: please watch Parasite if you haven’t yet! It’s a masterpiece).
Kim family. Parasite (2019), dir. Bong Joon-ho.
During this scary time in our country, I’ve seen many messages on how to cope. “We have to come together as a nation”, “Oh, it’s not that bad, the US will get over this by next week”, “The worst is yet to come”, and even “I don’t care about the virus.”
Here’s the deal. People should not be walking around the DC Cherry Blossom festival or carry a sense of entitlement with them when they go party during spring break. People are scared. People don’t know what to do. I’m learning how to cope with this every day just like you. I’m just as clueless as you are.
However, one thing I do know is this is not the time to not take things seriously. We might be in the early stages of an economic recession. If you haven’t taken this seriously yet, I urge you to do so. There are lives on the line. To my fellow students: stay home. Wash your hands. Eat good food to strengthen your immune system. Disinfect your phone.
Truth is, we don’t know when this will subside. I worry every day because my parents still have to go to work. We don’t know when the number of new cases will begin to go down. We don’t know when we’ll be back on campus. Take on a ‘one day at a time’ mentality. We can make a big impact on the growth of this virus just by staying at home and doing our work.
Over winter break I was accepted into Penn State’s DC program. I will be working and studying in DC this upcoming fall if the situation gets better. That means with our return cut off from campus, I won’t be stepping back onto it to take courses for nearly an entire year. Seniors most probably won’t be able to for who knows how long.
For now, I’ll be spending my time at home in self-quarantine, taking this all one day at a time. I try to limit my news intake to only see brief updates about what’s going on. I listen to music to calm the nerves and take advantage of my Disney+ free trial. I hope you do things to ease your anxieties because some reassurance is something we all need right now. Stay healthy and safe.
Citations for photos:
March 5, 2020 | by S. P. (2020, March 6). Gov. Hogan Confirms Three Montgomery County Residents Test Positive for Coronavirus. Retrieved from https://www.mymcmedia.org/gov-hogan-confirms-three-montgomery-county-residents-test-positive-for-coronavirus/
Go inside the architecture of South Korean film ‘Parasite’. (2020, February 7). Retrieved from https://thespaces.com/parasite-set-design-lee-ha-jun/
Hadadi, R. (2019, October 25). Review: Bong Joon Hos Cannes Winner Parasite is a Fantastically Dark, Horrendously Bleak Portrait of Classist Indoctrination. Retrieved from https://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/review-parasite-is-a-fantastically-dark-portrait-of-classist-indoctrination.php