Items

• 
  2020-04-02

  Living Through a Pandemic

  It never occurred to me that a virus starting in Wuhan, China could create a significant impact in other countries far away. Nevertheless, here I am sitting in isolation, or as our government calls it "social distancing." Myself, and all the other college students have had to convert to online learning. Which has not been that bad, but there are some times where I have missed a class or two to gain more snooze time. Online school has made me realize how much I miss being in the physical classroom. The aspect of repetition every week kept my mental health stable. I as well as many others have also had to deal with heading back home to our parents. Just as I caught a glimpse of independence, I'm back under my mother's rule of "my house my rules." My mom works for DCFS (child protective services) and is considered an essential worker. She as well as many other essential workers are commonly face to face with the virus on the daily. Specifically, my mom has to evaluate houses in Aurora and Elgin, Illinois, where the virus is hitting Kane County the hardest. It's scary to know that someone in my family can be easily exposed to the virus. But I understand that she has to do her job and keep children safe, especially during a pandemic where she has told me, "people become crazier when they're stuck in their houses." In the first month of being back home, many arguments were had with my 22-year-old brother and mom, so I decided to move to my dad's house and have been here ever since. Many other families have experienced the same problems with communication and alone time as it is hard when you're stuck with one another for 24/7.