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2022-03-16
COVID Surge in American Samoa
American Samoa, a small U.S territory located in the South Pacific, was the last place to experience the surging numbers of covid cases. When the coronavirus was declared a pandemic at the beginning of 2020, American Samoa was the only place on earth not to have any cases of COVID. To combat the disease, the government of American Samoa barred incoming flights for a whole year from the United States and their neighboring island of Western Samoa. Although the island did not have any COVID cases, the government promoted and maintained the restrictions throughout the island. However, after opening the borders for inbound flights after a year, American Samoa did not report its first Covid case until September 2021. Since then, travel restrictions and quarantine for travelers were enforced, but eventually, a big surge of cases began to be seen in mid-February of this year. The opening of borders to inbound flights brought the disease into the island. Coronavirus cases jumped from only a hundred to 555. It is still considered relatively low worldwide, but it is high for a small island. Fortunately, no fatalities are reported, with more than 80 percent of the population vaccinated. The attached image is data reported weekly by the American Samoa Department of Health to the public to show how many cases are positive in each village and totaled in American Samoa. The people were worried that the disease might cause some fatalities, the government was quick to impose a lockdown restriction called "CODE RED," which barred social gatherings, schools, traveling, and work on February 22. Although the public panicked with the news of coronavirus cases on the island, the government worked to assure the safety of the people by making sure people were aware of the number of cases and the situation with live news updates and weekly data by the Department of Health. I was also worried when I first heard of the surging number of COVID cases at home. Although I moved to the states for school, I made sure I am kept up to date with what is happening back at home. With the fatalities I saw here in the states with Covid, I was also worried for my parents. But it was comforting to see the live updates by the government on social media which kept me closer to home. -
2020-03
Suffering from Anxiety
As most young adults my age, I suffer from severe anxiety. Dealing with anxiety daily, can be very challenging at times, especially during a pandemic. I have been fighting a battle with anxiety most of my life. At this point, I am really used to the extra thoughts in my head. I have learned to help manage it, but not completely get rid of it. I believe that anxiety has made me who I am, in a way, because I do not remember a time where I was not struggling. In 2020, a pandemic instantly flooded the world. This completely impacted my entire life. I was not able to experience my last year in high school, I was not able to be around the one person that helped me with my anxiety, etc. I was forced to wear a mask that I could barely breathe in. I lost touch with most of my friends that I developed over my lifetime. This instant wave of depression suddenly hit me. I was so nervous on what would happen next, and how long will this last. People were dying from this pandemic. I constantly worried about if the sickness would hurt one of my family members or someone important to me. Over the time of being in quarantine, I thought to myself ways on how I could relax and not worry so much about the pandemic. I told myself every day, “Everything happens for a reason”. This is what I truly believe and for some reason it really does calm me down. I am Catholic. I am a very deep believer in God. To me, trusting in the Lord is the best anxiety reliever around. Covid-19 is still around today. Without Covid-19, I would not be where I am today. Although this pandemic has an abundance of negative impacts on my life, it also had some positive ones, too. I would not have attended Duquesne University, met so many amazing people, and made a plethora of memories that I would not trade in for. I believe talking about my anxiety, especially during the pandemic, is very critical because I am not the only one who is suffering, too. Everyone is nervous about what is going to happen next. To me, this is HUGE on helping me with my anxiety. I can finally think to myself that I am not alone. I believe that people who suffer from anxiety, especially from the pandemic started in 2020, can have a place to go if they are nervous. When I was struggling, I felt alone, and I was the only person who felt this way. My story will allow people to realize that they are not alone. Everyone is dealing with this stress and anxiety that I suffered from. My story tells people that I have worries and doubts, too. The pandemic not only had negative impacts, but they also had positive impacts. Focusing on the positives, will distract you from the anxiety and worrying. My story should help prove that. My story should allow people to see and find new ways to cope with the stress. I hope my story leaves a positive impact on people who did or are struggling. Everyone is in this together, and nobody will be alone in this major impact on the world. -
2021-08-06
Cabin Fever
It all started with the news of the outbreak. It was the day before spring break and the news had spread that the virus was infecting the surrounding states. Teachers were giving open ended warnings about the following days. There was a buzz in the air,and it felt like dread and excitement. I wasn't scared but I was worried. No one knew it would end up like this. The following week was Spring break and then it became extended even further. A month into this "temporary" spring break and I was sick and tired of seeing just my room. The laws had cracked down and the fear in my stomach felt like millions of butterflies wanting to get out. The smell of the required mask smelt sanitized and sickly at the same time. It was dreadful going out side and being so distant from everything. It was like the entire world was on pause. It felt like nothing grew, I felt trapped. After the months of being stuck in my house not being able to see my girlfriend starved me of affection. Being around my family should've been enough to fill that starvation,but we were never close to begin with. I hated the virus and the news surrounding it,especially the political side of the virus. It didn't make sense to give a disease a political stand point. The ambiance of my house was creaking wood and heavy sighs,we were all tired. Cabin fever had set in,and it was bad. -
2021-04-14
I Thought It Was Safe
It's been over a year since my daughter has gone to a birthday party. She got invited to one at an indoor kid's place and I had plans on taking her. She's gone to school online and only had playdates with one child ever since the pandemic began. She is not more likely to catch the virus than any other child, but, if she were to contract it, her symptoms would likely be severe and it would be very difficult for her to recover from it. My family has been very worried and take tons of precautions to protect her. We got an invitation to a private 2 hour party at an indoor amusement facility for kids. I got a text two hours before the party was set to begin saying that the party was cancelled because the family had just been notified by the school that there was an exposure to COVID-19 in the birthday boy's classroom. I am so glad the family was notified before the start of the party, but it just really hit me how dangerous it is to go to a simple kid birthday party. I immediately began to beat myself up... I had a thousand "what-ifs" go through my mind. I don't know when we will be able to go to indoor play facilities and I don't know when we will get to go to another birthday party. It's still just too scary and risky. -
2020-11-19
the impact covid had in my life.
Covid had kind of a big effect i my family due to my aunt that had got covid and had to be looked up in her room. It was bad because my grandma was over at her house the whole time she had it and we couldn't bring her over to are house. After she found out she had covid me and my brothers had to go take the test also because we had been so close to her those past weeks. We went to go get the test done and had to wait 7 days for the results after the 7 days we called to get are results and we all came out negative. My mom and dad had gone before me and my brothers because we were scared it was going to hurt but my parents said it didn't that's why me and my brothers went to get the test done. It didn't hurt it just tickled when they were putting it in your nose. -
2020-10-16
Trump Rally Amid High Covid-19 Numbers in Iowa
Iowa is one of the states with the highest coronavirus numbers as of October 16, 2020. President Trump plans to hold a rally for his campaign right after he recovered from the virus. This photograph talks about the measures they plan to take during the rally. There is a chance that even though they are taking these measures; it does not mean that it will prevent the numbers from going up, especially since President Trump just recovered. In many local newspapers, there is a lot of concern over this rally. -
2020-07-15
COVID: An Online Story
We live in a new world. This is a world inundated by social media and technology, a world by which our connections are bound by a glowing screen that exonerates us from our day-to-day trappings. In this online world I had friends of eight years who I had met through the massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft, but that was not all we bonded on. As we grew up together we expounded on things both small and large, interests in girls or drama at our High Schools, political arenas we had no conceptualization of, and even philosophical or religious debates that dragged on endlessly and only served to fuel our unending thirst for knowledge. This bond transcended geographic location, each of us where from different parts of the continental US. I learned new things about local American cultures that shocked my Angeleno conscious. But when the pandemic hit, we found a distance between us that was measured by complicated school schedules, budding responsibilities, and a sheer desire to perfect areas of our life that we felt were lacking. The typical adage amongst contemporaries in this pandemic is that gamers were particularly blessed for being natural introverts willing to spend inordinate amount of time alone and being comfortable with it, but for us there was a newfound stress and distance that came with obligations from work and school, and our kids, that transformed our bond into a gaping chasm. Connections that were solid as ever became distant and longing, as the pandemic plunged us into a world that was uncertain, filled with stress, and plagued by civil unrest, we ourselves became a microcosm of society at large, divided. Political discussions became long-drawn out political arguments, viewpoints regarding the validity of COVID became crass and filled with cynicism or a countered desire to explain the seriousness of its impact. This all fell to the wayside when my friend, an integral part of our four, became sick, and was intubated in July. He was a smoker, young, about 22, but he was gone for many weeks. Nobody heard a word from him. He was on death's door. And for whatever reason, perhaps it was my naivete, COVID was the last thing that came to my mind as for reasons to why he wasn't "logging on" anymore. The reality of it was much more severe than I had thought. He lost 25 lbs, and he was already a skinny enough guy. Luckily he survived, but the effects from COVID, the doctor's say, may be permanent. It's simply unknown. He couldn't smell, and it still took tremendous effort to walk, formerly a disbeliever in COVID, he now swears its validity as a precautionary tale to all of our friend group who now know never to take this beyond the seriousness it deserves.