Blog #7

Corona virus truly has me shook to say the least. Before Spring break I had no idea how big of a deal the virus was. It seemed so far away and even the school sending out an email about travel restrictions and self quarantine, I thought was going to be the end of it. I never expected that the entire semester would become online and I would be forced to move home away from my life in Chapel Hill. Events like this are something that you hear about in the news occurring in some distant country or read about in a history book. I never imagined that something like this would reach my world. It feels like the situation in America keeps becoming more severe as more and more restriction are being put in place. I had never thought that toilet paper would become such a luxury. One thing that is pretty cool about this hard time is that the whole world is going through it together, which rarely ever happens. It almost feels good to be united under one big problem that effects all of us and that we are all working to solve.

When I first realized that I was not going to be at school for the rest of the year and I was going to move back to Charlotte, I was devastated. My whole life is in Chapel Hill and I absolutely love it there. I miss my friends, I miss the campus, having freedom, having a schedule. I was worried what the lack of structure and obligation was going to do to my mental health. I find that staying busy and having a balanced routine keeps me happy and mentally healthy. I was and am worried that the lack of social interaction and structure in my day will increase my anxiety and decrease my productivity. Along with being disappointed about all the memories I wouldn’t get to make at school, my summer plans have also all been cancelled. I was going to go backpacking through Spain for a month and then go live in Nicaragua for the rest of the summer working as a translator at a medical clinic, but both of these incredible opportunities and experiences have been cancelled. At times I feel i am grieving the loss of these experiences.

I personally do not feel afraid to contract the virus myself because I know I am likely to survive from it. However, my mom and dad both have conditions that make them immunocompromised especially in the respiratory system. This makes me more afraid to contract the disease because I am living with them and if I contract it then they also will most likely get it and there is a much lower chance of them surviving the virus. While there are many things that are hard about this time, I have really been trying to look at the positives. While this has been a time of stress with so many changes happening, it has also somehow been a time of rest for me personally. As a Chapel Hill student, my life is always very “go, go, go” and I usually do not have extended periods of time that I have nothing planned. I love living that lifestyle but this time at home without much to do has made me feel more well rested than I have in a while. I have been able to take the time to do things that I enjoy that usually would not get to do normally like cook, paint, do a puzzle, etc. I have decided that I want to use this time to be productive and work on myself. There are a few things that I struggle with that I tend to push to the side because I do not have time to focus on them. In the midst of this crazy and hard time, I am thankful for this opportunity to work on me.