Frances

When talk of the coronavirus started to pop up in the news and media, I just assumed it to be unfortunate but unimpactful to my day to day life so I just brushed the news aside. I was getting my grades on track and feeling good about where things were going. And then everything hit the fan. What seemed like it was only light media coverage and news reports turned into a worldwide pandemic. Well, it was more like it snowballed into a pandemic. My work started to implement all the needed precautions at the time, and to limit your time in public places. Most people, myself included, didn’t take super precaution the first week or so when all of this started happening. I would go out to see friends and go hang out in groups, however after I realized how serious this epidemic was, my family and I took all precautions necessary. Unfortunately my grandma had a serious illness pop up and we had to move her from Texas to Colorado to live with us. While we were in the middle of moving her up, that’s when the shelter-in-place order went into effect. We didn’t know what to do. It all felt like a cluster of confusion of what we could do and what we couldn’t do. We had no clue as to what rules were implemented where or what to do if we couldn’t see our family members. My mother, sister, and I were constantly checking the latest news about the coronavirus. Eventually, we got to see my grandmother and move her and most of her belongings up to Colorado. My family is very much about keeping your loved ones close. We are definitely a tight-knit band, and I am that weird kid that genuinely likes to spend time with their family often. But even I have to admit this shelter-in-place and social distancing order has really got me wanting to spend my time with anyone other than family at the moment. The transition to online school was also happening during the time while we were moving Grandma so it was difficult for me to focus on my studies, family seemed like a much bigger priority at the time.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some definite positives that come from being at home all day, every day: I get to spend more time with my family, I have more time to take care of myself, and I’m able to focus more on my true passions. My relationships with my friends have not gone away because of the coronavirus, we manage by setting up weekly group video calls or facetime chats. I do feel a lot closer to my family, so that is one thing I’m thankful for. Really I’m just hoping for everything to turn out for the better, that all of everyone’s efforts were worth it in the end.