A lot has happened in the past few months. The information we receive from the government, the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control feels like it’s changing daily. Is COVID-19 like the flu, or is it more similar to pneumonia? Are medical masks actually protecting us, or are they futile? And why is everyone stocking up on toilet paper?
As hard as our healthcare workers try, we still have more questions than answers about this virus. This is a dark time for everyone but is especially foreboding for workers who are constantly exposed to COVID-19, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems. Chances are, you know someone who is at risk, or you are. I personally fall into these categories.
For this reason, my state (and a few others) have shut all nonessential services down. We’re participating in state-mandated social distancing to protect those at risk from getting sick. This means only leaving the house to visit the grocery store or doctor. My state’s mandatory self-quarantining starts Monday and will last thirty days. The idea of social distancing is that the virus won’t spread beyond the people who are already infected, as they’ve preemptively eliminated contact with others.
For many of us, this is a huge transition; I used to leave my dorm at 9:30 every morning, and I wouldn’t go home until midnight, because after class I spent all of my time with my amazing friends. Sometimes while walking around campus, I’d stop in my tracks just to take in the beautiful view and breathe in the fresh air. I even loved the rainy days, which frustrated others and admittedly made the terrain slippery and muddy. I miss the dining halls (seriously, I practically lived at Bruegger’s), I miss in-person discussions with my witty classmates. And I pity the seniors, who won’t have a normal graduation ceremony, won’t be eased into their final goodbyes with friends and faculty, won’t stroll across the Drillfield again. Just picking up my things from my dorm felt surreal; I cannot fathom what it would be like to do it for the last time.
But this is all necessary. As much as these lockdowns make us feel like we’re in a crappy dystopian novel, I can recognize that the measures put in place are for people like me and my grandparents, who can’t even fight off the flu, let alone this new illness. And I want to thank everyone who has chosen to participate in social distancing from the bottom of my heart because your actions affect me and the people I love.
I was in my first semester of freshman year when I contracted a particularly nasty case of mononucleosis, thanks to my already weakened immune system. Though I’m mostly recovered now, I still have “flare-ups” of symptoms – the mono rash, extreme fatigue and low-grade fever. My resting heart rate has only just started to come down, reaching 155 beats per minute at my sickest. I was unable to get the flu shot because I was immunocompromised. Social distancing has been part of my daily regimen for months already. I am only eighteen, and appear hearty and healthy. If you didn’t know my circumstances, you would never guess I am in the at-risk group for COVID-19. This can be said of many others with stories similar to mine.
I share this because I want you to know who you’re protecting when you stay at home. It’s me, people like me, like your elderly neighbors. It is difficult to stay at home for a week, let alone an entire month, and I am beyond thankful for those who are committing to it. We’re all in this together! Take heart – keep your grades up, Facetime your friends, read a good book, binge watch a Netflix series or two. We’ll see each other again in the fall.