Beginning
As the seriousness of Covid19, or more widely known as the Coronavirus, was being discussed there was one main concern of mine, my spring break trip to Cabo. I know it sounds selfish, but living in our bubble in State College, I felt like this virus was an empty threat and that no one I knew would be effected by it. Sure enough, I went on my trip. It was middle of the week in Mexico when my friends and I had opened up our emails to classes going online until April 6th. We were so excited at the thought of going home after our vacation, if only we knew.
Middle
I returned back to my home in Manalapan, New Jersey on March 15th. I returned home to panicked family and friends who were stocking up on food and toiletries as we faced the unknown of this pandemic. It was in those first couple of days being home when I finally realized the severity of this situation. Currently, New Jersey is ranked second behind New York with the most confirmed cases. With that being said, we have pretty much been on complete lockdown since the Sunday I returned. As I went out with my mom a few times to grocery stores we were faced with empty shelves and clear roads, hardly a person in sight. My town has truly become a ghost town, and what I deem to be completely devastating. What has been the most saddening news of all during this time is hearing that a family that has been neighbors of mine my whole life has been infected with the virus. Thus far, four members of their family have passed away and three remain hospitalized fighting for their lives. This tragedy has put my town it complete panic and devastation.
End
As a college student, the aspect of social distancing has been a struggle. However, I believe there are positive things that may come from it, as well as lessons that I am already learning. In realizing that this is far out of anyone’s control, I understand that there is nothing I can do to get around this. I must do my part and stay at home. I believe this could be a time for self growth and bettering myself. A time for working out and eating better, and just simply becoming more and more comfortable with my own company, maybe even discover a new hobby. What I am learning from this situation is that I take every aspect of every day for granted. All the days where I have dreaded class, or got frustrated at the people walking too slow in front of me, are the days that I would kill for now. I have learned to appreciate every tiny irrelevant privilege of every single day. No one can be sure of how long this will last, but for now we can hope for better days shortly.
Current confirmed cases and deaths in New York and New Jersey.
Empty shelves in our local Walmart.