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Show Miranda Jensen Professor Rachel Borup LEAP 1140 - 008 April 18, 2020 Final Paper - COVID-19 Response Amidst all of the chaos and confusion in the world, it seems inappropriate to say that my life feels perfectly normal. However, "normal" is the only adequate way to describe it. While many others throughout the world are experiencing great loss, from jobs to friends and family, I am not. Thankfully, none of my friends and family have been struck ill during this pandemic and I have been able to continue to work. I feel a sense of guilt stating how minimally the COVID-19 pandemic has affected me. It feels wrong to complain about having to wear a mask throughout my shift at work or having to complete the rest of spring semester online due to social distancing protocols. Truth be told, those are probably the only things that have changed in my own life enough to irk me. Unfortunately, while I am sitting in the comfort of my own home, surrounded by my beloved family, writing this essay, the world around me is in complete despair. Though life these days seems, to me, normal, I have noticed that some major things are changing with my daily habits. I have found that on the days that I do not have to get up and go to work, it is easier for me to sleep in till noon, stay in my pajamas all day, or binge on junk food. I would imagine that many people are experiencing similar occurrences in their own lives. It seems to me as though people are losing motivation due to the fact that people are less likely to be interacting with their peers. Albert Camus' novel, The Plague, reflects the idea that people lose motivation during times like these by saying, "This could be seen by the way nobody troubled about the quality of the clothes or food he bought. Everything was taken as it came" (Camus, 167). This quote emphasizes the principle that people almost tend to let themselves go in a way when they are not frequently socializing with others. I, personally, will be quite interested to see how the social standard for personal upkeeping will be following the end of today's nation-wide quarantine protocols. Though COVID-19, a modern day "plague", if you will, has seen many negative sideeffects, it has also been pleasantly surprising to see how much good it has brought to the world. Other than the fact that there has been a tremendous decrease in the amount of pollution that is being given off because there are more people staying home, there has also been a large, uniting force that seems to be bringing a lot of people together. Though some have been selfish and unkind in cases of hoarding toilet paper and committing hate crimes against those whom they presume to be "responsible" for the tragedies that the world is facing, many are going above and beyond to help their neighbors and to make sure that everyone is safe. Many have turned to religion in these times to find guidance and hope. It seems that in desperate times, people are more likely to turn to God for guidance. This principle is echoed in The Plague when Rieux is reflecting on Father Paneloux's words, saying, "My brothers, a time of testing has come for us all. We must believe everything or deny everything. And among you, I ask, would dare to deny everything?" (Camus, 202). Father Paneloux's thoughts describe the tendencies that people have to either completely surrender to or completely deny a higher power in the midst of turmoil. During today's pandemic, it seems as though most are surrendering and demonstrating so through their acts of kindness towards others. At this point in time, I do not necessarily foresee any major changes resulting from this pandemic in the long-term. Yes, there will probably be some sort of vaccine that people will need to receive on a regular basis, but that does not seem major being that flu shots are given annually. Honestly, I believe that most of the major effects of the pandemic are temporary and have already been seen and experienced by most of the world. Quarantine and social distancing, for instance, are bound to end at some point once the virus is under control. Perhaps, once this is all over, it will take a while for people to become comfortable to shake one another's hands as a greeting, or hugging will be questionable for a short period of time, but I truly believe that the world is strong enough to adapt to the challenges that the virus throws and bounce-back from everything that COVD-19 has presented. Conclusively, though I am only experiencing minor effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, I recognize that everyone throughout the world is being affected to different degrees. My greatest worry, no matter how shallow it may seem, is that people will get in the habit of not taking care of themselves throughout the social distancing process, and then once it is all over, personal hygiene standards will have lowered. Despite my main worry for the future, throughout all of the despair that the world has seen lately, I have been deeply amazed by the outstanding acts of kindness performed by ordinary individuals for the greater good of the world, and I am confident that in time, the world will overcome this trial. Eventually, I believe that the world will go back to normal. Thankfully, this virus hit in a time where science is advanced, and medicine is highly functional. Though the past weeks of quarantine have seemed everlasting, they are quite short compared to what they would have been if this was a time where the world wasn't as evolved. Ultimately, society will prevail, and in thirty years, when I have a child in a seventh grade history class learning about the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, I will look back upon this time gratefully knowing that I was able to live through such a difficult period of history without experiencing the major effects that it had on many far and wide. |
