Spring Special Pandemic Edition (4/20/20)

Embrace the Change

by Ariel Switser

            2020! A fresh start, or so we thought. Many dreamed of a new year filled with endless joy, success, and even a new building block. However, as we celebrated the end of what we thought was a rough year, we were about to be struck with an even worse year. Life as we knew it was about to change. For better or for worse? Some see this year as the worst year of their lives, and others see this year as an opportunity.
We started the year 2020 with suspicions of World War III occurring. Then Australia was faced with devastating bush fires. The waters spilled in Indonesia, leaving many fleeing from their homes. The death of many people’s idol left them speechless. Fear rose across the earth, leaving us to wonder what could possibly get worse? Little did we know that while all of these devastating events took place, something underlined them all, something more deadly and devastating. The outbreak of the coronavirus, (COVID-19).
Jumping from one person to the next, spreading like the bush fires in Australia, destroying the lives of so many in its path. Hopping from continent to continent, country to country, city to city, unknown where it may go next. Maybe your local supermarket, maybe your hometown, where many of your loved ones live, and maybe from your mailbox to your front door.

Life changed before my eyes. At work, co-workers swore that we wouldn’t shut down. Within a week, I was laid off. My body filled with sadness, heart break, anger, and understanding. I knew that we were in a tough situation. Many of our customers stopped placing their orders. The days seemed to get longer as production slowed drastically. That Thursday afternoon that I got called into the office, I knew from the bottom of my stomach that it wasn’t going to be good. I was given my paycheck and a pile of papers to apply for unemployment. Right when I was starting to make a friend at work, I was torn away from her. I was torn away from the job that I loved most. I had found a job at eighteen that I actually enjoyed, and it was taken away as quickly as it was given.
I left with tears blurring my vision, and a sense of emptiness. I didn’t know what I was going to do with all of my free time. I knew it wasn’t safe to be going into the public often. All of my closest friends and family are living back home in Vermont, and I was a few hours away. I figured I could catch up on my sleep and that I could pick up on my craft projects that I had once lost ambition to finish. I still have yet to finish any of them—“maybe tomorrow” is what I keep telling myself.
Without a job, many told me that I would have more time for schoolwork since I would have to transition to the new learning. However, all of my classes except one are already online. There is no big change there for me. I have been doing online classes all this semester and had one the previous semester. Thinking ahead, when I registered for classes for the fall, I chose all online classes, just in case this pandemic continues that far. I have been able to spread out my schoolwork schedule and take the time to get a deeper understanding.
The mandatory quarantine of COVID-19 is what you make out to be. If you want to sit in bed being miserable and feeling bad for yourself, you can, or you can look at the positive side of all this. You can’t see your friends, you can’t see your family, you can’t go shopping, and so forth. Yes, I understand that this is not ideal, this is not how we expected 2020 to go, but we can’t sit and feel bad for ourselves. I mean we can, but it isn’t going to make us feel better.
During this pandemic, I have taken the initiative to better myself. My favorite hobby, my passion was stripped from me. Left without my softball season, this spring has me empty. Softball is one thing that I would look forward to, and without it, I really lost myself. It felt like a part of me was ripped off. I have been playing softball since I was a kid, and to not play it this year has been heart wrenching. A week away from our season opener, our season was shut down. Not only did I temporarily lose my passion, but I lost my place of sanity, and my daily exercise. I knew that I couldn’t stop life because it was taken away. So, I mentally prepared myself that I was going to better myself for the next season. I want to come back. I took the step of working out for at least twenty minutes a day, nothing hardcore that I am going to regret the next day, but just enough to give me some energy and release those “feel good” endorphins. I also go for a few miles’ walk every day that the weather permits. I have gone on a few hikes, on trails that are not overflowing with other people. I keep my distance, I am not deliberately invading other’s space, and I am simply trying to keep my sanity.
With all of this time on my hands, I could eat, sleep, and repeat, but that is not the life I want to live. Just because I am distanced away from my normal life, my friends and family, it doesn’t mean that life has to stop. Life offers us so many opportunities and the COVID-19 situation is another opportunity that we can either choose to take advantage of or not. I am taking advantage of the situation that many have been thrown into unwillingly and making it the best it can be. Focusing on mental and physical health has been my focus throughout all this, and it hasn’t failed me yet. Finding one goal you want to achieve throughout this will give your days a purpose and will help you get through this. These times are not easy, and it has been a big change for all of us. Change doesn’t have to be negative; change can be positive. Find it deep down within you to help yourself and even to help others. This is not the time to self-wallow in pity but to rise together as humans, to show COIVD-19 that we are stronger than we appear to be.