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2022-04-29
College & Religion ft. COVID-19
When I was in the second semester of my freshman year at ASU studying Computer Science, we had started hearing word of a virus slowly spreading around the world. Halfway through that semester, it had reached a point where my universities had shut down in-person sessions and ASU had announced initially a 2-week online period, which then quickly ended up being the rest of the semester. For someone who was extremely to get the full college experience, it was very disheartening to have to cut out a decent chunk of our college life. However, with time and acceptance of the current world situation, I was able to quickly adapt and thrive with the new fully-online learning environment. Although, amidst being able to adapt to the new university online life, it was a very different story when it came to my religion. As Muslims, we are very accustomed to being a close-knit community. It is an obligation to attend a group prayer on Friday afternoons on a weekly basis. This is something I have been attending ever since my parents had taught me this at a young age. However, with the way the virus was spreading and considering how crowded mosques tend to get at Friday prayers, they were forced to close down. This had a major affect on many Muslims as it is a big part of our daily routine. On top of that, when the month of Ramadan had come around, mosques could not stay open for the late-night prayers that everyone was so accustomed to attending on a daily basis. With a little more time and a lot of prayers, this year mosques has opened at full capacity for weekly Friday prayers and nightly prayers at the mosque for the month of Ramadan. From a religious perspective, COVID-19 had taught a lot of us to develop more patience than we were initially used to and have faith in our religion that at the end of the day, whatever happens in this world always has an underlying reason. -
2022-04-29
Covid Impact
Covid has had a huge impact on everyone throughout these past two years. Many people lost their lives, jobs, and it has impacted people mental health. Living through covid hasn't been easy for many of us we went from living our day to day life and all of a sudden a virus was infecting the whole world and we were stuck in quarantine. Personally this had a huge impact on my mental health i felt like i was going crazy being stuck all day inside with nothing to do. Not just that i was stuck with all my thoughts and feelings that i was avoiding and now they were all there with me making things harder for me. I would typically have some sort of distraction but at that moment i had none. My motivation for school decreased heavily i wasn't able to learn good through a computer screen although i did like just waking up 5 min before class started. When covid started i was a junior in High school and i thought by the time i was a senior and graduating it would all be done but i was wrong. Its been two years now and it is still a thing. It does suck knowing i missed the last half of my high school years i didn't get to experience all the fun senior activities but the thing i am grateful for is i did have a graduation ceremony which at that point is all i really wanted. Recently things have been slowly going back to "normal" and i feel like many of us have gotten used to this. -
2020-05-30
The Two Sides of COVID
COVID has a double-edged coin valuation for me. 2020 was one of the best years of my life. While that was true for me, the exact opposite was true for so many others around the world. The photograph that is contributed to this archive is one of me and my fiancé, who got engaged in March of 2020, with our two pets and our brand-new vehicle getting ready to drive cross country in May of 2020. I had been let go from my job due to the pandemic, but my fiancé received a promotion, but that promotion required us to move across the country from Los Angeles to Camden, Arkansas. We had been talking about getting out of LA for years and this seemed like a calling from a higher power that it was the right time. This picture symbolizes the pandemic from my personal perspective because this move was the easier move I’ve ever done because everyone was at home, rather than at the hotels, restaurants, and rest stops that we needed to travel to in order to reach our new home. However, it also gave us a unique perspective to see the country without all of the people in it. When we were driving across Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas it was shocking how little traffic there was and how there seemed to be no one around. When we took a flight to check out prospective homes, there was no one on it! It was very strange to experience the isolation of COVID-19 right at the beginning because when we moved to a new town, no restaurants or events were taking place to try and meet people. It became one of the loneliest years of my life. When 2021 came around, things got back to normal in Arkansas and life seemed to begin again. I look back at this photo and remember the excitement of something new, but also the loneliness and isolation it brought. -
2022-09-11
Covid-19 Reflection - Our Social Society
My reflection on the initial shift in social norms in Tampa, Florids -
2022-04-28
COVID in my Life
I was a senior in high school when the pandemic hit. I remember right after spring break we got notice that school was over for the year. I remember that I had just gotten into my dream University and was not sure what the first year was going to look like for me at the time. Later in August, I was on my way to my new school, classes were a hybrid mix and I was able to stay in a dorm. II remember just how proud I was to be able to experience college even though it looked much different. But that meat that I would see my mom and dog a lot less. My mom is considered high risk so I didn't want to visit too often and risk her getting sick. I remember thinking that I missed them both so much and I had a big fear of losing my dog because he was getting older and I was unable to bring him with me to college. But I had a plan I was going to have my mom and dog move to my new city so we can all be close again. It was now my sophomore year of college and it was the first semester, the classes were amazing much better than the year before and I was actually for the first time getting to experience college and being in-person full time. By the second semester however I had much harder classes that I did not enjoy very much but I, of course, did my best with them. A couple of weeks later on January 19th, 2022 I got word that my childhood dog whom I have had since I was in Elementary school was not doing good and he needed to be put down. I took the first bus out and was there about three hours later. Seeing him was so hard, I remembered how he was so much smaller when I got him and now he was old and had many lumps on his body. His face still looked like a puppy because you couldn't see his white hair because he is a white dog. That was one of the hardest days of my life. I think of, Tyson every day but I know he is in a better place now not suffering, and is incredibly happy. I know we will see one another again one day. After Tyson's death I found out I had COVID and had also given it to my mom and she ended up in the hospital for a week which was incredibly hard on her. I had gotten behind in school and fell into a deep depression. It seemed like everything fell apart in my life during that time and to be honest I’ve never fully recovered from it. I know I will one day I just need to take it one day at a time. Thanks for reading. -
2022-04-28
My Covid-19 Story
reflection paper on how covid impacted life, religion, gender, power through my eyes and point of view. -
2020-03-26
ITALY Covid-19 Lockdown
In the summer of 2019, I officially went to Italy to live with my significant other. The transition to a new country was difficult, but I eventually made it. Throughout my adventure, I've met some wonderful individuals and seen incredible sights that I never imagined I'd see. The year 2019 was full of happiness, adventures, and meeting the most incredible friends whom I will remember for the rest of my life. My best friends from the United States came to visit me at the beginning of 2020, and we had no idea that as soon as they left, the entire country would be put under lockdown. Everyone has been talking about the COVID-19 and how it is affecting Asia as the beginning of March 2020 approaches. There was a word going around that we had a couple of cases in town, and those cases grew and swelled. Individuals did not possess masks, so everyone used whatever they had to cover their mouth and nose. The government announced a lockdown out of nowhere, masks were required to be worn inside the building, and people did not own masks. The government then declared a total lockdown, with people only allowed to leave their houses for essentials like the hospital, grocery store, or job. Except for grocery stores, nothing was open; whenever we leave our homes, we must fill out a paper stating where we are going and why, as carabinieri (police) are stationed throughout the city to stop those who leave their homes. Being stranded at home has its ups and downs, and it was critical to maintaining our emotional and physical health during this trying time. The lockdown lasted nearly two months, during which time Italy was placed under complete lockdown and declared a red zone. Everyone was suffering as a result of not being able to travel anywhere, much alone take a walk outside. It was a difficult situation, especially because we were in a foreign country and our families in the United States were concerned. When I went to the grocery store and stepped outside one time, it felt as if no one else existed; the roads were deserted, the air was still, and I felt as if I was the only one in the town. -
2022-04-25
A Wild Ride
In a world wide pandemic, it is important to get first hand accounts and feelings to be able to look into later. -
2022-04-23
#rel101 covid reflection story
this is a short reflection about the changes that happened during the covid-19 pandemic and the divide that occurred amongst American people -
2022-04-20
Pandemic Privilege
This story is important for me to share because it highlights my change in perspective that culminated through the pandemic. -
2020-06-09
college life in COVID
this image is from friends I have made during my dark times during COVID 19, it was hard to make friends as a freshmen when classes were held on zoom. this took a toll on me and my personal life was going dark, it seemed that everyday that passes was just like the day before, no change. it made me contemplate how life is really worthless, you get up to everyday to do your required tasks and then get back to sleep just to get up again the next day and rinse repeat. I started going to a religious place to get help, and found people to hang out with. which ultimately helped me get back to normal life. I still feel as if life is worthless to most of us, as we do almost the same thing everyday and are expected to entertain each other. and while that may seem grim and dark, its the reality of life. to think of life in this manner is not harmful fore say as it helps you take bigger strides and risks in life, which may not be taken when life is thought of as a precious gift from god. and while life is a precious gift from god, realizing that taking strides which may negatively impact your life can also improve your life, which will help you get in a better spiritual and emotional state of mind. so while I played Basketball and enjoyed my time, I knew that my life was gonna get significantly better because this life barrier I placed upon myself was not gonna hold me back. and that was going to improve my spiritual and emotional state of mind -
2020
a year to reflect
It allowed me a year to breathe. A year to focus on my family, gain new skill sets, and adapt in which way we operate. -
2021-10-06
Reflecting on life. Life has been hard.
It was August 25th, 2019. I had finally reached my parents’ house, all of our belongings* (all that could fit in one car*) in tow, back in my home state of New York. I didn’t want to be here – I grew up in NY, and until two years ago, never intended on coming back. I like to call it the “tectonic plates of life” moving, that moment when you feel something big on the horizon and suddenly, oh hey, here’s a big life decision you didn’t plan on having to make, have fun! Circumstances change, yeah. Life is a pretty unpredictable time warp, and global warming is such a serious issue; it was already sorta tough to not focus on the negatives before 2020. Relationship issues, financial issues, family issues – so many volumes of problems. I already felt like I had lost everything, pride included. Nothing could have prepared me for the pure stress that inevitably comes from a worldwide pandemic. Moving back into my parents’ house as a single parent in her 30’s was just about the biggest pill I could swallow that autumn. Since I had decided to work at Starbucks again, I finally made up my mind to go to college for the first time. In February, I enrolled in summer classes to start at ASU. I was hearing something about a coronavirus, but I wasn’t paying much attention to the news with taking placement tests for college in between working. In March, my daughter’s school closed, and so did Starbucks. It’s hard. It’s hard to not focus on the bad, and it’s so odd to think fondly of the not-so-bad before it. Life just feels a little bit harder. A lot bit, with the increasing violence, hatred and misinformation being spread on a daily basis. Everyone’s experiencing repercussions in one way or another; but something I cannot deny – the something I’m most grateful for: how much I’ve grown, emotionally and mentally. Maybe I can’t credit the stress from the pandemic completely, but it has certainly put all of my other stress in a different perspective. It turned my attention to world issues – I stopped being so wrapped up with myself and my own country, started learning about other cultures after starting college – falling so deeply for that education that I decided to major in Anthropology, with a Minor in Religious Studies. I watched a Ted Talk once that described the good effects of stress.. I feel as if I’m a better human, or at least, a more knowledgeable one. A lot has changed in the past two years. I started college, moved into my own place, moved back into parents’ (hi, tectonic plates!), went from being faithfully Christian to super agnostic/atheist (that was mentally difficult and I’m still processing it) and although I am quite bitter with life in general, I’m also much happier with it, and with myself. I'm a better mom for it. Life has felt like a constant challenge for years now, but I appreciate how easy it is to appreciate the simple things. I may find it annoying that everyone is more on edge, but honestly, who can blame them? Good on everyone for putting up with life! All we can do is learn and grow. And treat the planet well, guys. Let’s do that, too. -
2020-07-17
Finding Peace Through Religion
This is a photo of a part of the mosque I attend. This was significant to me because of the impact that religion has on my personal life. I feel as if I have always referred back to religion in my times of need, so when the world was in a very difficult spot, I turned to the thing that always seemed to help me. COVID has turned the world on its head since its arrival, and there seems to be no answer for it. It took countless amounts of lives and left so many others in bad shape. It created a sense of unpredictability for everyone around the world, not knowing if they, or someone they loved, would be infected with it. At the end of the day, it has been something we have learned to live with. As I mentioned earlier, my religion has always proved to be a relieving factor in my life. I would turn to it in my times of need when I felt uncertain of what could happen. In the times we have gone through, my religion has allowed me to voice my concerns and find comfort where I couldn’t find in other places. I always felt as if it was something that I could turn towards. This photo shows a Munara, as we say in Bosnian. It is a pilar that typically sits in front of mosques and allows Imams to call for prayer. When this call is heard, people are reminded to give some of their time to worship. I feel as this pilar can also represent what religion meant for me during the pandemic we were living through. When I see it, I would get reminded to pray and connect myself with God to seek answers for my problems. This would allow me to alleviate my stress and gain peace of mind through prayer. Each person would find comfort in different ways during this pandemic, for me, it was hearing this pilar call me back to something I could not forget about. -
2021-10-06
Pandemic Reflection
Last year as we all know was the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic. Funny enough, I had actually started an Epidemiology class in January 2020 of last year. It was interesting timing. For me, it was cool to learn about Covid 19 in real time, however it was also scary to learn about how much it would impact us in the incoming months. I remember telling all of my friends and family about how we should be prepared and how it might affect us. A lot of them brushed me off, but a few took my advice seriously and started to prepare for the worst. My mom, who is always the most prepared for everything, started to buy canned foods and toilet paper for our family before the toilet paper craze started. Then as the months passed, and the pandemic grew worse and worse, we started to see how everyone was reacting differently. Leaders of the old church that my family and I used to attend, started to tell the church members that they should not get the vaccine as it was only there to ‘control the masses’. Watching news on T.V. meant that there would be political fights over science. Or social media would be divided often leading to people disowning those with opposing views. Now here we are, over a year later and the divide is stronger than ever. Some religious affiliations advocating for vaccine exemption or workers going on strikes because of vaccine mandates. We are now able to look at world data and see how different countries have responded to the pandemic and how their cultural beliefs have either hindered them or helped them. As for me, life has been hard. I started the pandemic off working at Starbucks and being an essential worker, we really took the brunt of it. We were over worked and spread thin meanwhile the customers were demanding and impatient (to say the least). Out of the many reasons I left Starbucks, this was one of the main ones. Home life became almost toxic because of disagreements regarding the covid virus. Lost some friends as well. Lost some faith in religion. Preaching about loving your neighbor while also putting them in danger. Lost some faith in humanity. My distrust in the political field grew even more. Through all of this, I am grateful. Although its been hard, there are others who suffered way more than I. They suffered the loss of their loved ones or they lost their only source of income. I hope that this next coming year bring us all the relief that we have been needing. But only time will tell. -
2020-06-05
Beating the Odds
As cliche as it sounds I feel like I've fought all my life to get my diploma. Covid-19 was just another fight that I had to get through to get what I desired. I was so excited for senior year to start for all of events and the approach of college. When the pandemic first arrived in the United States, I didn't think much of it. At worst, I thought we would only have a few days off from school. Little did I know I would not be returning once covid hit. Although my parents got sick and I was continuing to work, school remained in session. Even though it was online, it was a major adjustment and at times I didn't think it would make it. As time progressed and the pandemic gradually got worse I managed to graduate. Although it was not the traditional graduation setting, I was content with the drive thru graduation I received. To graduate during a pandemic is an achievement I will forever be proud of and to every student during this pandemic I'm also proud of because at the end of the day school simply is not just school. Meaning, one doesn't just learn something grasp it immediately and be done. There are steps involved, learning barriers, time commitments, life stressors, and so much more. Life often becomes a barrier to school and to be able to endure that is quite the achievement. This photograph has tremendous meaning to me because in all honesty I accomplished what I wanted to do. -
2021-10-06
COVID-19: The Impact of Power, Gender, Race, and Religion
Life during the COVID-19 pandemic is something that no one could have expected or prepared for. The way that our everyday lives instantly got disrupted and for many people their lives turned completely upside-down. We went from going to concerts, shows, and movies with friends and family, to lockdown in a brief second. Yet, for everyone lockdown, quarantine, and even work all looked different. There were many factors that went into trying to be able to stay safe and healthy during this time. Not everyone had the same advantages to try and protected themselves and their loved ones; some of the driving forces behind the advantages or disadvantage were power, gender, race, and religion. The more power, money, influence that you had during 2020 was what could almost guarantee that you and your family would be okay. By having money and power one was able to by as many masks as they wanted or by as much disinfectant as they could. Those people didn’t need to worry about if they could afford the inflated prices of hand sanitizers and Clorox wipes (if they could be found). Having power and money meant having information and accesses. This meant that those who possessed these things, could have accesses to doctors for healthcare purposes but also to get information about what was happening in their local area. With the possession of money also came space. Besides disinfectants and good masks such as N95s or KN95s, space was the next most luxurious thing people could have. Having space meant that you and your families weren’t all crowded on top of each other even if that’s how many people felt like they were because of lockdown. Having space also meant that if one of your loved ones got COVID-19, there was an area for them to quarantine and not but the rest of the people in the house at risk. Power and money were what separated those who could afford to stay at home and be safe and have minimal disruption to their lives, and those who still had to leave the house every day, if they were some of the fortunate ones to have jobs and put their lives at risk to try and provide for their loved ones. The way that gender was impacted by COVID-19, was that for lots of family’s stereotypical gender roles were reversed in some cases or even ceased for a bit. With everyone spending so much time at home, there was no more reason for any one person to be doing either the housework, looking after the children, or even doing all the cooking. While it is not just women that stay home with children, plenty of men to do, it is a stereotype that most women stay home with the kids and that the men work. Well with many people working from home or unfortunately being unemployed the jobs that typically might have fallen on mom became a mom and dad job. However, gender was not only impacted in these ways. While COVID-19 was already a hard, tough, and sad enough event domestic violence rose drastically during lockdown. Because people were forced to stay home, women especially since they are the dominant gender affected by domestic violence, had no option but to remain in the same environment as their abusers. This is not to say that men did not face the same situations but in America, 77% of domestic violence victims are female. Race played a huge part in the treatment of those with COVID-19 as well as accessibility to masks, disinfectants, and other forms of PPE. Areas all around the country that were not primarily made up of white people, were hit the harder with COVID-19. These groups of people were not given or provided the same level of care or protections that those where were white did, during this crisis. People who were any race other than white were treated as second class citizens to those who were white. They tended to be forgotten about by the healthcare system or were not prioritized the same way those who were white were. The color of your skin during 2020 could have been the difference between living or dying due to COVID-19. Religion was one of the biggest debates that surrounded the entire COIVD-19 pandemic. Religion was the cause for fights, violence, and even deaths of thousands of people. People used their belief in religion as a reason for why they did or did not believe in many parts of COIVD-19 crisis. One of the oldest debates in history is religion versus science, and this debate in modern times has never been so present in every part of the country and many parts of the world. Not only were people’s personal beliefs in religion playing a role in the chaos of the pandemic, but the attendance of religious gatherings such as church and temple causing issues as well. As a result of millions of people choosing to still attend religious gatherings, they were spreading the virus because of being in such close contact with many people. Even when there were executive orders in place prohibiting gatherings of over a certain size to prevent the spread of COVID-19, people still felt it was their right to go to these gatherings. The COIVD-19 pandemic impacted and altered the lives of billions of people. There are lots of factors that played a part of making the pandemic better and making the pandemic worse. However, at the end of the day the ones that were the most prominent were power, gender, race, and religion. -
2021-10-06
COVID-19 and the Family Divide
My submission details the drastic shift in the lives of the family unit after the emergence of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. It is important for me to discuss the pandemic's effects within the household as they pertain to internal religio-political affairs. -
2021-10-06
A Slow Year
The year of 2020, was slow, thought-provoking, frustrating, frightening and overall, quite overwhelming. The year began normally, with news of the Coronavirus across the world picking up steam. My family and friends were not concerned about immediately, it just seemed like another scary news story. It was not clear early on, that the world would come to a screeching halt. I often think about those last few weeks before everything changed. That would mark the last time I ate in a restaurant, saw a movie at the theater, enjoyed the unity and magic of a crowded concert, and I saw my friends. None of this was possible for almost an entire year and nothing could have prepared anyone for what this would feel like. Personally, I had been to Europe for the first time, the year prior, in 2019. This led me to have a unique outlook on the pandemic, and what it could mean for future travel. I could no longer pleasantly think about the crowded streets, museums and metros, without thinking about the germs. All of the sudden, I was acutely aware of germs, and the spread of them. I could not imagine being on a plane for an extended period of time or sitting that close to so many people. So much of the good feelings in life come from being with other people and experiencing how the world runs. It was honestly terrifying knowing that life was stopped and going to the grocery was now an operation of how not to catch this deadly virus. All plans of the future seemed ludicrous; how could we plan for anything? While the world is getting back to a place that looks familiar, its easy to forget just how scary it had gotten. Many people lost loved ones and were very ill themselves. People could not see their dying family members, for fear of dying themselves. People could not mourn probably, as funerals and usual death procedures were postponed. These are the affects of the pandemic that cannot ever feel normal again. We need to remember this time as a reflection of how lucky most of us are. -
2021-10-06
Covid-19 REL 101
I am going to start off by saying that, during the pandemic, I didn’t experience any major changes. Now this is not to belittle those whose life’s have significantly changed, but as far as my life goes, it stayed the same. Of course, I continued to follow the health regulations such as wearing a mask, staying six feet apart, maintaining cleanliness, you know the drill. Other than that, I was one of the lucky ones that could still continue to work. I am a barista at Starbucks who used to work in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but I just recently moved to Houston, Texas. During those times, even though I was just a barista, I was able to connect with people and people were able to connect with me. As little as that might sound, when we are trapped in our homes, completely separated from friends and family for a year and a half within a matter of a week, any social interaction was a blessing. I would have so many customers who would go through the drive thru, and all I can say is, I am glad I can an open ear. I am glad I can listen to people share their stories, even if it’s just about their day. There’s more to my job than to offer lattes and caramel macchiatos, we are a community of people who enjoy coffee, and enjoy each other’s company. With that being said, my contribution to the pandemic was connecting with customers in the toughest times of most of our lives. The object I used to represent my story is a green apron. It’s the apron I wear five days out of the week. It’s the apron I use to show that even at work and through all the chaos, I do my best to put a smile on someone’s face. It is my contribution to COVID-19. -
2021-10-06
The Desperate Cling
When the pandemic hit the small town I resided in March of 2019, the aftershock evoked a hopelessness that was unexpected. Growing up learning “stop, drop, and roll,” I presumed catching on fire was going to be much more problematic than pathetic trauma that has consumed my generation. In seventh grade, my school spent the day watching planes hit the towers on 9/11. Then that night watching the strength of my single mother dwindle while recording the news on VHS tapes. I believed my resilience created from the past had prepared me to get through this pandemic. I was much less resilient than I had anticipated. I worked as a barista in a grocery store and had seen the hatefulness and treatment this once friendly town provided. Before moving to this small town I would visit in the summer and found it difficult to understand how perfect strangers could treat each other like lifelong neighbors. The cloud that had fallen upon this town was shocking. 6am when the grocery doors opened I would watch what seemed to be half the town race with carts, baskets and bags to the designated “hot spots.” (Toilet paper, rice, beans, and bread) I watched as my co-workers were interrogated by their neighbors over product. My coffee kiosk was quiet compared to what it had been and that gave me time to observe the change in demeanor from my co-workers as well. The emotional exhaustion of their own fears along with half of the town coming in to dump their fears and baggage onto them as well; The physical exhaustion of working 60-70 days, pushing product and covering shifts. It was a mad house. It was hard to see the toll on such a warm and friendly town. Customers, co-workers, strangers would indulge dark, inappropriate and ugly opinions I had never expected, especially not in this sleepy town. I could feel the darkness and fear of other steeping into myself. It became difficult to be patient and interact with others. By the end of the day I would be so emotionally spent from pushing myself to be a courteous light for a beacon of all that sadness. I was bitter for this, finding it difficult to cling to my hope in humanity. I wasn’t anticipating this type of reaction from society when faced with such a colossal disaster like the world had reacted after 9/11. So in a way, I think I was resilient to the events but I was unprepared for the worlds reaction. -
2021-10
A fitness lovers life during a pandemic in the UK
It describes how I struggled during the pandemic as I was not able to do what I love doing the most: training. -
2021-10-04
#REL101
This is an assignment submitted by an Arizona State University student while they were taking a Religion 101 course. In the attached document the student describes their experience with covid 19. -
2021-10-04
They said we were heroes but they treated us like villains
My experience with the covid 19 pandemic was very different from a lot of people’s. Instead of staying home and not going outside, I had to work. I wasn’t a nurse or doctor or even a service industry employee. I did work in health care but registration. I also didn’t work at an ER or hospital. I worked at an urgent care that didn’t treat covid but did test for it. This urgent care was also in the middle of Los Angeles, California. I was doing patient registration in Los Angeles, California, at the peak of the pandemic when one in every three people had covid. Since we were so understaffed and overworked, I easily worked about 60 hours every week for almost a year. Now I’ve worked many jobs throughout my adult life. These include retail during Christmas, a theme park during summer and Halloween haunts, and the graveyard shift at a casino. Out of all those, the worst people and treatment I encountered were from the patients who wanted to be tested for covid 19 when we ran out of tests. We were a private company, and Los Angeles had multiple free test sites available to anyone in the LA area. You didn’t have to even to be a resident or have insurance. But none of that mattered; they were there and wanted to be tested. Even though it was 9 o’clock at night and we ran out of tests over four hours ago. I know I’ll always be able to find an administration or clerical job in health care. I have over ten years of experience in that field. But, after what I went through during covid, I don’t think I will ever work in health care again. Every time someone says health care works are heroes, all I can think is, they have a funny way of showing it. -
2021-10-04
Plague and Faith
I began the Plague Year in the heartland of the United States: Rogers, Arkansas. I was towards the end of my two year term of service for my church, which was my full time job from 2018-2020. After spending nearly two years focusing wholeheartedly on Christian and spiritual concepts such as redemption, outreach, transcendence, faith, repentance, covenants, and endurance, my mindset going into the pandemic was admittedly a spiritual one. More specifically, I saw the pandemic as a growing opportunity for the whole world. The key, I thought, was that the coronavirus doesn't discriminate: It can infect you regardless of your race, socioeconomic status, social class, sexual preferences, or gender identity. It is a threat to everyone. Although we later learned that the disease, in fact, does affect people disproportionately, this one tenet of my philosophy- that it poses a threat to everyone- still stands. With this in mind, coupled with my heavily Christian, and moreover religious perspective, I viewed the advent of the coronavirus as a lesson that humanity had the opportunity to learn from. Whether they would take that opportunity, I couldn't say at the beginning, as I had recently seen examples that bolstered my faith in humanity, and also ones that degraded it. This was particularly interesting to consider immediately after exiting the 2010s, a period that many Americans and people of the world view as a tumultuous one. What I can say, however, is that I was optimistic. Even if a divisive political climate, humanitarian crises across the world, the longest war in American history, and a widespread mental health crisis couldn't jumpstart people's empathy for one another, hopefully a worldwide pandemic could. Looking back after 18 months of plague, I would say that I have observed mixed results. In very visible ways, the world, and particularly the United States, has become considerably more divisive. I look at the rise of conspiracy groups, the charged conversations I've observed related to masks or vaccines, the storming of the capitol, or the events that led to the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, and I think that the pandemic has only served to stress people beyond their breaking point. I am disappointed. Now that I am much more involved at a secular institution, in a state university, and much less involved in my church, I often fall into skeptical and even cynical thoughts lamenting humanity's inability to learn a lesson. I revile at the unchecked pride that rules the lives of so many. I look around and see many who would rather be "right" than be objectively correct. These people are my friends, family members, former mentors, and authority figures. Like the Coronavirus, these shortcomings of character have the ability to affect anybody. I would like to say that I have seen the same results on the other side, that I have seen enough examples of individual acts of courtesy and kindness to offset the vitriol, but I don't know that I can. I also don't know if I can't in good conscience make that observation, the proverbial jury is still out on that one. That will take more time to see. True change is something that stands the test of time, which we haven't had the luxury of observing yet. While the hate, cynicism and conflict that I have previously mentioned are very visible, and immediately announce themselves, change in the perspectives and hearts of people is more of a slow and gradual process, especially considering that the pandemic is not over. I hope to observe in later years that this pandemic defined our generation in a positive way, the same way that our progenitors gained appreciation and humility and grit from the great depression. I know that I, for one, have made efforts to do the same. I suppose that this all comes back to faith- faith that I have that this will one day be worth it. Although my life is a lot more secular these days, I retain the same faithful perspective that I gained volunteering with my religious organization for 2 years, the one that I had at the beginning of the Plague. It has not broken me, and deep down, I don’t truly believe that it’s broken the collective “us”, either. -
2021-10-04
Before & After
This is a quick reflection on some aspects of how life is different now due to covid-19. -
2021-10-01
I don't have any answers.
One of the more grueling things to come out of the pandemic, for me at least, has been to watch my family fall prey to misinformation and fear-mongering. When the vaccines started coming out, my family refused to get them. I felt like I couldn't get them without causing an upset in my family. I figured that, since I am an online student and I rarely leave the house, it was okay if I didn't get vaccinated, but really the only reason I didn't was because I was afraid of my family's anger. I felt like I had no choice, to be honest. It's a horrible feeling. In addition, my mother convinced my grandparents that getting the COVID vaccine booster shot is pointless, because people who are vaccinated are still getting COVID. Even though from what I understand, this only happens in very rare cases. She also tried to scare me out of getting the vaccine by claiming that women who get it experience irregular menstruation, a sign of infertility, or sharing news stories of people who had allergic reactions, got sick from the shot, etc. I cannot adequately describe my sheer frustration with this attitude of thinking they know better than doctors. A month ago, my mother noticed a strange purchase listed on one of our bills. She called my father and learned that he had purchased Ivermectin, a drug normally given to horses, because he had read something on the Internet about how it could be used to treat COVID. People have been overdosing on this stuff and it makes them extremely sick or could even kill them. We were able to convince my father to return his purchase, but my mother heard from her chiropractor (a very strange and eccentric man, in my opinion) that his wife, a licensed doctor or nurse, had been giving her elderly father small dosages of Ivermectin to treat COVID, and that it had supposedly worked. She asked me if I thought she should tell my father this. I said no, because I don't think he understands the difference between a licensed medical professional doing something and a person with no medical training attempting to do the same. Having said all this, I also must admit that I do not know who or what to believe. Do I put by absolute faith and trust in anyone who is labeled an "expert"? Well, no. Experts are human, and they are not immune to mistakes. So part of me does understand people wanting to take matters into their own hands, because they feel like the only person they can completely trust is themselves. I just wish more common sense was used and more people were able to grasp nuances, I guess. Is that the experts' fault for not being clear enough, or is it the people's fault for not understanding? I don't have any answers. I don't think anyone does.