Item
My COVID-19 Experience
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
My COVID-19 Experience
Description (Dublin Core)
My name is Kylan Ritchie. I am a fourteen-year-old freshman from a small
town near Clarksville, Tennessee. I am homeschooled due to the fact that I am a
professional actress. COVID-19 did not have any effect on my school however, it
has had a temporary effect on my job. I normally have a summer acting job but,
due to COVID-19, I will be spending my summer at home. During my time in
quarantine, which started on March 18th, I have learned various things about
myself, my friends, and my family. Personally, I have learned that when I set my
mind to something, in this circumstance, that was school, I can achieve a lot
more than I believed. I learned that I am a procrastinator and that is something
that I am attempting to fix. Also, I have learned that I do, in fact, have the mental
stability to stay locked away in my house for long periods of time.
My situation is different in comparison to my friends because of my
father and grandmother. My dad has a heart condition and will be turning sixty
this year and consequently, he has a higher chance of getting the virus and it
being life threatening. Likewise, my grandmother has severe asthma and has an
even higher chance of dying if she were to catch the virus. Because of this, I have
been strictly following the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines to shelter
in place as well as the Tennessee government’s stay at home order. Although, it
has been fairly difficult because my friends and family have not followed the
same guidelines that I have been following. Many of my friends have not been
social distancing at all after Tennessee’s government decided to lift its stay at
home order. A few of my friends have found that seeing their boyfriends or
girlfriends, seeing other friends, or going out to eat is more important than social
distancing or quarantining.
Some states have begun lifting their stay at home orders and have seen
a spike in cases and deaths. In my home state of Tennessee specifically, phase
one of reopening has begun. After the reopening began, there was a 130
percent increase in cases in Tennessee. In the U.S. according to recent updates,
by May 14, 2020, there has been a total of 1.47 million confirmed cases with
88,144 deaths across the U.S. and it is rising every day. The amount of deaths
correlating with COVID-19 has now surpassed the American death toll of both
WWI and the Vietnam War. The sad thing is, the death toll and infection rate
continues to climb however, many state governments have decided to open
everything up once more, massive amounts of citizens are refusing to wear
protection while out in public, and violence has begun between mask wearers
and non-mask wearers.
When we look back in America’s history, we can see how America was
able to overcome various epidemics going back to the smallpox breakout from
1633-1634 that killed 70 percent of the Native American population. In the
beginning, America never truly quarantined as many families in the 14th century
had done during the Black Plague, also known as the Black Death, outbreak.
One of the first mentions of quarantine due to an illness in America was during
the yellow fever outbreak. After attempting to have state and local
governments handle the containment of the illness with zero success, Congress
passed the federal quarantine legislation in 1878. This did not conflict with the
states’ rights, it showed that the federal government was ready to involve itself
in the quarantine activities of America. The legislation gave the Surgeon
General the ability to, “[m]ake and enforce such regulations as in his judgment
are necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of
communicable diseases from foreign countries into the States or possessions,
or from one State or possession into any other State of possession.”
Many epidemics in the U.S. such as the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918
and the diphtheria epidemic of 1921-1925 have given me hope due to the fact
that, in the end, a vaccine was created and licensed in order to lower the
chance of America having another wave of that disease. For example, the
Spanish flu, though it was horrible, and many people died from it, ended with
the very first flu vaccine that would later stop millions of people from being
infected.
I believe that COVID-19, as of May 15, 2020, is far from over. There are
still many waves to come unless people begin to quarantine and take
precautions, or a vaccine is created. History shows that, in most cases, it takes
a great deal of time to create a vaccine for diseases of this capacity. For this
reason, I believe that many government related actions could be taken in order
to prevent further spreading of the virus. In the end, I have decided to follow
the advice of scientist and doctors who are seeing firsthand, what this virus is
made of, what it does to a person’s body, and how it spreads.
town near Clarksville, Tennessee. I am homeschooled due to the fact that I am a
professional actress. COVID-19 did not have any effect on my school however, it
has had a temporary effect on my job. I normally have a summer acting job but,
due to COVID-19, I will be spending my summer at home. During my time in
quarantine, which started on March 18th, I have learned various things about
myself, my friends, and my family. Personally, I have learned that when I set my
mind to something, in this circumstance, that was school, I can achieve a lot
more than I believed. I learned that I am a procrastinator and that is something
that I am attempting to fix. Also, I have learned that I do, in fact, have the mental
stability to stay locked away in my house for long periods of time.
My situation is different in comparison to my friends because of my
father and grandmother. My dad has a heart condition and will be turning sixty
this year and consequently, he has a higher chance of getting the virus and it
being life threatening. Likewise, my grandmother has severe asthma and has an
even higher chance of dying if she were to catch the virus. Because of this, I have
been strictly following the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines to shelter
in place as well as the Tennessee government’s stay at home order. Although, it
has been fairly difficult because my friends and family have not followed the
same guidelines that I have been following. Many of my friends have not been
social distancing at all after Tennessee’s government decided to lift its stay at
home order. A few of my friends have found that seeing their boyfriends or
girlfriends, seeing other friends, or going out to eat is more important than social
distancing or quarantining.
Some states have begun lifting their stay at home orders and have seen
a spike in cases and deaths. In my home state of Tennessee specifically, phase
one of reopening has begun. After the reopening began, there was a 130
percent increase in cases in Tennessee. In the U.S. according to recent updates,
by May 14, 2020, there has been a total of 1.47 million confirmed cases with
88,144 deaths across the U.S. and it is rising every day. The amount of deaths
correlating with COVID-19 has now surpassed the American death toll of both
WWI and the Vietnam War. The sad thing is, the death toll and infection rate
continues to climb however, many state governments have decided to open
everything up once more, massive amounts of citizens are refusing to wear
protection while out in public, and violence has begun between mask wearers
and non-mask wearers.
When we look back in America’s history, we can see how America was
able to overcome various epidemics going back to the smallpox breakout from
1633-1634 that killed 70 percent of the Native American population. In the
beginning, America never truly quarantined as many families in the 14th century
had done during the Black Plague, also known as the Black Death, outbreak.
One of the first mentions of quarantine due to an illness in America was during
the yellow fever outbreak. After attempting to have state and local
governments handle the containment of the illness with zero success, Congress
passed the federal quarantine legislation in 1878. This did not conflict with the
states’ rights, it showed that the federal government was ready to involve itself
in the quarantine activities of America. The legislation gave the Surgeon
General the ability to, “[m]ake and enforce such regulations as in his judgment
are necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of
communicable diseases from foreign countries into the States or possessions,
or from one State or possession into any other State of possession.”
Many epidemics in the U.S. such as the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918
and the diphtheria epidemic of 1921-1925 have given me hope due to the fact
that, in the end, a vaccine was created and licensed in order to lower the
chance of America having another wave of that disease. For example, the
Spanish flu, though it was horrible, and many people died from it, ended with
the very first flu vaccine that would later stop millions of people from being
infected.
I believe that COVID-19, as of May 15, 2020, is far from over. There are
still many waves to come unless people begin to quarantine and take
precautions, or a vaccine is created. History shows that, in most cases, it takes
a great deal of time to create a vaccine for diseases of this capacity. For this
reason, I believe that many government related actions could be taken in order
to prevent further spreading of the virus. In the end, I have decided to follow
the advice of scientist and doctors who are seeing firsthand, what this virus is
made of, what it does to a person’s body, and how it spreads.
Date (Dublin Core)
Creator (Dublin Core)
Contributor (Dublin Core)
Type (Dublin Core)
text story
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Biography
English
Education--K12
English
Social Distance
English
Health & Wellness
English
Home & Family Life
English
Government State
English
Labor
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
Collection (Dublin Core)
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
15/05/2020
Date Created (Dublin Core)
15/05/2020
Accrual Method (Dublin Core)
4302