Ryan

Snow falling on empty streets with little tire tracks leaving the neighborhood. That is the view I see outside my window. With mass hysteria and laws against big crowds becoming more and more prevalent, small streets like mine have become empty. Before the outbreak, I had made a deal with myself to be outside for an hour each day. I had been doing this for about a week before school was moved to online and when things weren’t looking great, it snowed. The snow wasn’t a lot by Colorado’s standard, but it was just enough to cancel a trip to the park or any outside activity for that matter. I decided to count my losses and invest in a videogame for me to play over spring break and when I don’t have school work. This leads me to realize that life was still normal in a way. We still have the outside, and with people in self-quarantine, I could go outside and not have to worry about social distancing. Going to the park was now even more fun because my friend and I didn’t have to worry about cars or seeing other people at the park, it was great. Still, not everything has been unchanged. I am not allowed into my neighbor’s house which is kind of a no brainer. Other than simple and basic precautionary procedures, life hasn’t changed. I can still be outside without anyone telling me off and I can do whatever I want that is in the boundaries of the law.

With grocery store aisles empty, and most people’s cars are in their garages, the world has started to feel a bit empty. Streets start to feel hollow and unwelcoming with neighbors feeling distant and unclean. People react to the same problem in a similar way. My family has cleaned every square inch of our hands, tables, and counters while my neighbors have closed themselves off from what feels like the world, no one in or out. This makes way for distrust and isolationism, not unlike the Red Scare that plagued our country for many years. I could be analyzing too much into just another scare that has gripped Americans in lies and deceit.