A lot has happened since the last time I posted.
- Global pandemic due to Covid-19 declared
- The U.S. has declared a national emergency against the virus
- I’m working a crazy amount of hours at work
- And lastly, although this week was the week we were supposed to return back from spring break, they decided to extend the break into this week. And then starting from next week our university will transition into online classes until the end of the semester
Wow. A few other spotlight worthy things are the unnecessary hoarding of toilet paper and other paper products, although I suppose I could see why people would do this in order to get the goods from the stores before the virus spreads further. However, it’s ridiculous to take 5 or 6 huge bundles of toilet paper. To be honest the internet has been inundated with nothing but toilet paper talk, so I’d like to refrain from talking anymore about that!
Back to the world coming to a stop. Events are being cancelled back to forth, people are losing jobs, businesses are shutting down, and curfews are being implemented and people are being told to stay at home. It’s everything you’d expect to happen during a pandemic so it comes to no surprise since some of my classes have covered situations like this, and movies have even shown stories like this unfolding (albeit, with some extra drama added to it). But, at the same time it’s a bit surreal living through this.
Many people are relating this to the Spanish flu pandemic but I really hope it comes nowhere close to such a tragedy. Currently, Italy has been hit extremely hard and other countries are scurrying to prevent a strain on their health systems and prevent unnecessary deaths. As a healthy, young college student I am not at a high risk of this virus but I still think it’s critical for me to limit my outings and be careful as well. I’ll be fine likely if I contract it, but it’s the elderly who I’m worried about. The virus hit at the worst time possible (spring break) and a lot of college students are taking advantage of this holiday and cancelled classes to get in large gatherings and party at clubs and bars. That’s not my type of scene and I don’t have anything against it, but I really question their priorities if this is what they would choose to do during a pandemic.
As the world slowly comes to a halt, certain businesses (such as my job) are getting extremely busy and actively trying to recruit more people. So while some people will spend the next few days with not much to do, others will be busy their entire shifts and managers will be scrambling to get more people on board. It’s just incredible how drastically this virus affected each person’s lives differently. I don’t mean to imply this virus is impressive or good, of course. It’s just the scope of change in such little time that I find incredible…
Journey To Japan 