COVID-19 Narrative:
As my last class of the day ended, I began walking back to my dorm room to pack before my parents arrived to pick me up for spring break. My mind was filled with questions and uncertainty because of the countless rumors regarding the COVID-19 situation that have been spread around campus in the previous days. “Is this going to be my last day as a freshman on campus?” I thought to myself as I struggled with trying to figure out if I was just going home for spring break or if I was going to spend the rest of the semester online. Along with a few others, my roommates and I sat anxiously in our room waiting for the email that would answer our pressing questions and concerns. I feared that when we got our answer we wouldn’t be returning to school after spring break, in fact, some of my friends from different universities who were currently on their spring break had already received the news that their classes were being moved to an online format, and neighboring universities in Maine had already done the same. This fear was confirmed when the email from President Herbert came. The email stated that after spring break, students would be moving to online classrooms and would not be returning to campus until the fall semester. Different emotions flooded my thoughts, and I didn’t really know how to react, maybe because I didn’t fully comprehend what this meant, it felt and still feels so surreal. I felt sad that I wasn’t going to be able to spend the rest of my freshman year at school with my friends, but at the same time I was also excited to be able to see my friends from home, which also was taken away from me later on. Packing was extremely difficult, I couldn’t stay focused. I had to decide between what items I felt were important and needed to be brought home that day and what items I had to leave and return at a later point to grab because I didn’t have enough bags or space in my parents car, the news of moving to an online format was something we were not necessarily prepared for.
Since I have been home, many parts of my life have been influenced by the COVID-19 changes. To start, I feel that my time management at school was far better than being at home, having to physically attend classes not only gave me a daily schedule that needed to be followed but also forced me to find motivation to do the work assigned to me. This struggle isn’t just unique to me though, after talking with members of my family and some of my friends, I’ve found that they all feel that this change has made finding motivation for academics challenging, and being at home brings more distractions than being at school.
To add onto this shift to online courses, my concern regarding COVID-19 rises everyday with the constantly rising number of cases in Vermont. Although there are no confirmed cases in my town, and there have been only one or two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in my county, my family and I find ourselves stressing about this situation daily. Despite this daily stress, I’ve noticed that most of my community have been extremely dedicated to slowly the spread of this deadly virus. Our local stores have changed the ways they operate, we can call or order what groceries or items we need and can pick them up outside the store. This allows people to obtain the food and other necessities without having to go into the store with other people. Unfortunately, there are some families who have just returned home from trips and Europe and refused to quaratie themselves, in fact one of them had recently made a joke about the two week quarantine. I know many others along with myself find this extremely upsetting because we have been taking lots of precautions to try and keep our families safe from this virus, and it seems as if these families who hadn’t quarantined have minimal regard for the health of others in our community. To add to this, my father not only has a compromised immune system but I also have older members of my family who live in my community, which is why people who still go to parties and non essential trips to town because COVID-19 is “just the flu” bother me so much because my family and I have been worrying about keeping the older members of our family healthy and safe.
I think the most important thing I have learned about myself and my family is that we have been trying to keep a positive outlook on this situation. Although I wish I could go to gatherings and see my friends I understand the seriousness of this situation and how important it is to stay home to slow the spread of this virus. I’ve also noticed how my family and I have been working together to take every precaution we can for our safety. Although diligently washing our hands, disinfecting surfaces, and bringing clorox virus killing wipes when we go shopping may be viewed as over the top, I feel there is no danger in taking too many precautions than taking too little or none at all.
