I know that people are doing their best with adapting and creating new routines because of this virus, but I’m still frustrated. I know that we’re all trying to be productive and distract ourselves during this time, but I’m still frustrated. I know that there is absolutely nothing I can do to help everyone and being out of control is my worst nightmare, but I’m still frustrated.
During this time of quarantine, the world is feeling both chaotic and apocalyptic. People are fighting for toilet paper, we can’t see our friends or go to school/work, and people all over the world are contracting this virus at lightning speeds. My head feels like it’s been put through the washing machine on heavy, spinning out of control, leaving my body while looking at the eerily quiet world around us. Businesses everywhere are shutting down, people are losing jobs, schools are converting classes online and yet, I’m still required to take tests and write a 10-page paper.
Friends all around me are feeling anxious and worried about when life can go back to normal, or at least a life where we can visit each other again and hang out. But will life ever actually be normal? This virus has been devastating and more people are dying from it than expected, however, more people are recovering than the media tells us. But this virus has exposed the broken parts of our government. Our service industry runs our world, and yet they aren’t treated as such. They are at the forefront of this virus, without proper protection and hazard pay and are at serious risk of catching this virus. They are fighting this madness right along with our doctors, nurses and first responders, yet they can’t get an adequate amount of testing or masks to keep themselves safe. People can’t even get proper testing not only because there aren’t enough tests, but they have to be showing just the right amount of symptoms to even be acknowledged that they might have the virus. And when they do get the test, and possibly treated for it, people are still paying thousands of dollars for their medical bill; those are the ones that are even able to afford healthcare anymore if they still have a job.
So what if you lost your job and can’t get a new one? File for unemployment they say. But if over 3 million people are filing at the same time, will you get your benefits in time to pay April’s rent? Or will the quality of the benefits decrease because so many people are needing it at the same time? Don’t worry! The Stimulus Bill will help out every American! Except for the millions of college students because most are still claimed as dependents and they don’t qualify for the extra $500 parents receive for kids because they’re are older than 18. But can we get a full/part refund for the conversion of online classes and the on-campus resources that are rendered useless? No. What about a rent freeze because I lost my job and have no source of income? No, because the apartment complexes remind you of their strict contract that you signed. Can I at least get the option for a pass/fail grade for class because there are severe stresses and extenuating circumstances that inhibit my ability to do my best? No, but just remember that you have a test next week and a Zoom meeting tomorrow at 10 am.
There are millions of people that are being left high and dry as a result of business closures, the healthcare system, online learning conversions, and the lack of genuine support from our government in these desperate times. I hope that this exposure to our government’s inefficiency the inadequate policies open people’s eyes to what our society can look like with real change. I hope that people can see that not everyone is taken care of as much as they thought. I hope people can see that in times of peril, the people are the last thing that our current government and other authority figures think about. Lastly, I hope that others take the proper precautions against this virus so that no one else can contract it and possibly die because when this is all over, I want to see a real change so that we can live in a world that is more equitable and comfortable for generations to come.