Nicole Ambruch
COMM 409
Corona Reflection
3/24/20
A Time to Reconsider Priorities
Many people are hearing the news of the recent pandemic, CVOID-19, and are handling it in their own way. The things these people are hearing are confusing and frightening and this virus is consuming everyday life. From daily newscasts, world leader addresses and the things they’re reading on their social media, people are being fed so much information that it is causing distress. In the town that I live in, Hazleton Pa, the area surrounding my town currently has several confirmed cases. My area is only one of many areas where this virus has spread and caused a panic; disrupting the normality of our daily lives. Currently worldwide there are 372 757 confirmed cases of CVOID-19.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52000173
My family and I are fortunate enough to be quarantined all together. When President Trump announced the quarantine and governor Wolf enforced a shutdown of all non-essential business, all of my family found themselves working from home. These conditions took a house that was usually empty 9-5 everyday and made it into a fully capacitated building. My dad and mom are doing work that they usually would be doing at an office in the kitchen, my brother, who is out of work, is home and relaxing and I am busy with my school work. Nothing we are obliged to do takes up enough time to occupy the whole day so we all find ourselves bored or annoyed with one another. The screen time in our house has skyrocketed and new hobbies are forming that are passing the time.
Something that I find myself struggling with is the social distancing and quarantine. I am such a social person, I love human contact and conversation. Not being able to see my friends is really affecting me more than I thought. The news of Penn State transiting into remote, online learning and taking the last 2 months of my senior year away from me broke my heart. The fact that I will not be living with my six other roommates or be with my friends every weekend, things that can never be the same again due to the fact that I’m graduating and that my “college experience” is over really hurt me. My family, especially my parents, have been telling me that “it’s ok, there’s nothing you can do about it.” and that this is such an exciting time in my life because of what’s ahead of me in the next few years. Even if that is true, it’s not what I want to hear. I think my family and I are struggling with understanding everyone’s feelings about this unprecedented time. Along with feelings, we are all trying to deal with being with one another 24/7- it’s astonishing how annoying a brother can really be.
Another thing my family is struggling with is not seeing the older members of our family. It’s dangerous for older people and babies to be exposed to many people due to the fact that research says they are at the highest risk. My family and I are fortunate to all be very close; my whole family that lives close to one another all get together at least once a week. This social distancing has caused these weekly reunions to not happen. I think it’s really affecting the older members of my family because a lot of them live alone. My mom’s parents live an hour away so there is no way we can go see them due to exposure. My mom is really stressed about not being able to be with her parents.
This is a time in my life that I am going to remember for the rest of my life. Coronavirus has taken many things from me like my friends and the last few months of the best time of my life but has also made me take a step back and do some reflection. The quarantine has allowed me to spend time with my family, more time than usual due to the fact that I no longer live there all year. I’m baking and cooking with my mom, playing basketball with my brother and hanging with my dad on a daily basis. I’m exercising and doing my school work in a timely manner as well. I’m taking a step away from a crazy life and slowing down. It’s nice.
https://time.com/tag/coronavirus/
In times like these it’s important to remain positive and I find myself looking for the good in the news rather than the bad. Things like news about the environment improving and people caring for eachother really keep by days going. We must all care for one another, be responsible for our actions and stay educated about all things that are happening during this pandemic.