New Normal

Monday 4/13/20: Everyday feels more and more normal. The news is always the same, streets always bare and daily assignments due by sunset. The weather is crazy! One day it’s 60 degrees and sunny and the next it’s 40 degrees and pouring. I try my best to get outside everyday and go for a walk, but sometimes the day flies by. It is even crazier that it is already the beginning of the fifth week of quarantine. When this whole fiasco began, everyone thought that it was just going to be a few days or at most a couple of weeks. Now, nearly half of the states have canceled school for the rest of the year. Summer trips are getting canceled left and right and even fall concerts are getting postponed or scrapped. Summer schools are even moving to remote learning already. Governments are looking to weaken the shutdown and even abandon it totally, which is insane because everyday there are still hundreds if not thousands of new cases and the death rate just increases. It is hard to think that we might be stuck inside for another six months, but it could be reality. There is a whole Checklist of things that need to be done before we can even think about going back to a normal lifestyle. A news report says, “First, transmission of the CoronaVirus must be controlled. Second, that health system capacities are in place to detect, test, isolate and treat every case and every contact. Third, that outbreak risks are minimized in special settings like health facilities and nursing homes. Fourth, that preventative measures are police in the workplace, schools and other essential places. Fifth, that importation risks can be managed. And sixth, that communities are fully educated, engaged and empowered to adjust to the “new norm.” It seems like the end is not so near. 

Today I noticed that the park across the street from my house is now blocked off with tape. 



Wednesday 4/15/20: Several states are now working together to figure out when they will stop quarantining. However, the President is now saying that “he has the authority to determine when the economy will reopen.” Governors and mayors around the country have tried to make it clear that they control their states and cities meaning that they have the power to maintain closures of business and school and how to enforce social distancing through their police departments. One of the main coalitions forming is between seven East Coast states because a large amount of those populations commute between states for work. They are working together with the goal to re-open each state in a way that limits new outbreaks of CoronaVirus. I think it is crucial that states work together because each area has different circumstances that they need to take into account like the industries and workers. It doesn’t make sense for the President to open the whole country up at the same time. 
When school was in session, I felt like I was always worn out and exhausted because I was running from class to class, activity to activity, and worksheet after worksheet. I never felt like I had energy or excitement even though I would get at least eight hours of sleep every night. At the beginning of quarantine I was getting almost ten hours of sleep nightly and felt amazing and energized. However, now after five weeks of being inside, I feel like I am back to how I used to feel and just want to stay in bed with little motivation. Now I feel like I need to get back to school and be active so I can sense adrenaline and use up energy. Somehow sitting inside for hours on end makes me tired and I need some excitement again in my life. 


Friday 4/17/20: It is the middle of April and it is snowing again! I think it is really ironic that we say, “April showers bring May flowers” but in this case it’s “April snow showers.” I think Mother Nature noticed that everyone has been staying inside so it must be winter again. The weeks have been going by faster and faster and all starting to blur together because nothing distinguishes one week from another. It has been really nice to catch up with friends and family that I haven’t talked to in a long time. For example, last night I talked to a camp friend that I haven’t seen or chatted with in over a year. Both of our lives are usually so hectic and we live in different states, so we have lost connection. It is really nice to know that no matter where you are in the United States, everyone is experiencing the same thing and just trying to make the best of the situation. 
Now, onto a more solemn note...This pandemic in the United States has really shown a light on the awful health care system we have. America was so confident that we had the resources and intelligence to combat the CoronaVirus, but now we have the most cases and deaths in the whole world. I heard a story on the news the other day that was devastating. An older man, probably in his late 70s was diagnosed with Covid 19. He and his family did not sign a DNR so the hospital should have tried to revive him or keep him on the machine even though his body shut down. However, the hospital did not want to expose more of their staff to the virus and they wanted to open up another bed for someone that would have a higher chance of combating the disease. So the hospital took him off of machines and he died. His family was so upset because the hospital did not follow their wishes. Furthermore, the family could not even say goodbye to their loved one. This is just one of the thousands of devastating stories across the world. I think the worst part of this whole situation is that families can’t even be with their dying family members for their last few days or even hours. Thousands are dying alone and then placed in rooms with several other bodies of which none can even have a proper funeral. People are trying to grieve for their loved ones, but can’t even commemorate together and unite over the good life someone had before a horrible virus took over their body within a few days. This is the depressing reality we have come to face. Maybe in the future America won't be as pompous just because we are a first world country and instead actually take matters seriously before they get out of hand. 

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