What to do when the pandemic hits you on both ends?

    Imagine being in the midst of a pandemic in college and having your family get sick as well as your roommate? What would you do? Where would you go? Unfortunately a similar case happened to me a couple of weeks ago. 

    With covid cases slowing down a bit on campus, I started to feel a little more at ease (always following precautions and guidelines of course) roaming around campus. One weekend, while visiting home, I got a message from my roommate telling me that she had been exposed to someone who had Covid-19 and was going to get tested the next day, as well as self-quarantine. I was starting to get a little worried, not for myself but for my family in particular. I would despise myself if I ever gave it to them! While I wasn't in direct contact with anyone who had the coronavirus, knowing that my roommate was, made me a little worried. The very same weekend I went to visit my family, I noticed that a couple of them started coughing, saying that their throats were sore, and feeling very tired. Immediately without thinking about all the million other illnesses they could have, my mind went instantly to covid. Did I give it to them? Do I have the Covid? Did my roommate give it to me? If my family has covid and my roommate has it, where am I supposed to quarantine? So many things were running through my mind. I was overwhelmed and could not keep my mind clear. Thankfully, I got news soon that neither my roommate nor my family tested positive for the coronavirus. I was able to return to school and was very thankful to be that fortunate. It's crazy how even the thought of getting the coronavirus can be so scary!

Blog Assessment 3B- Best Blog Entry

Has It Made It's Way To My Floor?   

     Everyday that passes by it's hard not to wonder if you will get the coronavirus. It seems like everyday you hear of somebody that sadly gets the virus. Coming to college I was a little worried knowing that I was going to be around a lot more people than I had been around since the pandemic began. 

    I moved in about a little in about five weeks ago. Since I lived quite near the university and there wasn't much going on at campus yet, I decided to go back home for a couple days. Moving in eased my anxiety about being around so many people up until I received a text message from our dorm's group chat saying that someone from our dorm got the virus. I can remember laying on my bed at home that night, watching my phone get bombarded with text messages. Many people were getting pretty nervous, while others were trying to tell everyone to stay calm. Personally, I wasn't worried because the student had not even arrived on campus yet. 

 

    After staying home for a bit I went back to college. During move-in week, I was already hearing chit chat about parties. While many thought it would be fun, others, including myself, tried to warn them about bringing the virus not only to campus, but specifically, our dorms. I had a friend who was already being quarantined on campus, and I did not want that to happen to us. Unfortunately, many did not listen and that lead to a problem; someone on my floor got the corona virus. I remember the day I heard that news our floor was overpowered with the smell of lysol. I quickly walked into my room, pinching my nose to avoid the smell. After getting in my room, I was starting to worry not really about myself, but about bringing the virus to my family back home.

    Thankfully, since I've arrived on campus, nothing more/worse has happened to or around me in regards to the covid-19 . However, as a student all you can do is carry on with your daily life while following guidelines, and only hope and pray that you aren't the next to get the virus.   

When the Pandemic Hits You On Both Ends

  Imagine being in the midst of a pandemic in college and having your family get sick as well as your roommate? What would you do? Where would you go? Unfortunately a similar case happened to me a couple of weeks ago. 

    With covid cases slowing down a bit on campus, I started to feel a little more at ease (always following precautions and guidelines of course) roaming around campus. One weekend, while visiting home, I got a message from my roommate telling me that she had been exposed to someone who had Covid-19 and was going to get tested the next day, as well as self-quarantine. I was starting to get a little worried, not for myself but for my family in particular. I would despise myself if I ever gave it to them! While I wasn't in direct contact with anyone who had the coronavirus, knowing that my roommate was, made me a little worried. The very same weekend I went to visit my family, I noticed that a couple of them started coughing, saying that their throats were sore, and feeling very tired. Immediately without thinking about all the million other illnesses they could have, my mind went instantly to covid. Did I give it to them? Do I have the Covid? Did my roommate give it to me? If my family has covid and my roommate has it, where am I supposed to quarantine? So many things were running through my mind. I was overwhelmed and could not keep my mind clear. Thankfully, I got news soon that neither my roommate nor my family tested positive for the coronavirus. I was able to return to school and was very thankful to be that fortunate. It's crazy how even the thought of getting the coronavirus can be so frightening!

If a Chinese Vaccine is the Most Effective

     Who might develop a vaccine first? How may that affect politics? As I have discussed earlier in this lecture, the pandemic and politics have become greatly intertwined. When the pandemic is brought up politics are brought up and vice-versa. Yet, politics may be a way to put an end or at least find a vaccine for the coronavirus. Today, however, I want to focus on the imagining what would happen if a China Covid vaccine proved to be the most effective in the world.

    If China came out with the world's most effective Covid-19 vaccine there would be a change in global politics in various ways. Probably the most obvious is that it would affect the the relationship between the U.S. and China. As is known, right now the relationship between the U.S. and China is not great at the moment, especially since the beginning of this pandemic. If China were to actually come out with an effective vaccine, the United States would have no choice but to give up its pride in order to be able to receive/get the vaccine. The United States would most likely try to form a cooperation/alliance of some sort with China after a vaccine was released. However, would the country of China agree after all the dispute that has gone on between the countries, specifically the accusations about who's fault the pandemic is? Would China even offer it's vaccine to the U.S.? If China had an effective vaccine it would gain great power and leverage over the United States. Whatever happens politically between the U.S. and China (if China was to develop an effective vaccine) would solely depend on who wins the U.S. presidential election occurring right now. With both candidates having different viewpoints on economics, trade, and international alliances, the outcome of how the U.S. reacts to China developing a vaccine would be vastly different.

    China would also benefit immensely if they developed a vaccine against the coronavirus from many other countries. Their influence in Southeast Asia and Africa would only grow more and more. However, many countries (even if the vaccine was approved) would probably still be skeptic because of the recent accusations of hacking information from multiple countries, especially the United States. On the other hand many people may believe that China would have the very best vaccine as they may understand Covid-19 better than most countries because it was the country with the first known case. Some countries may not even get the doses of vaccines they needed, based on whether or not the vaccine is distributed equally.

    I could come up with multiple scenarios of what may occur if China were to develop a vaccine, but one thing that remains constant is the fact that China would gain great political power over many countries even the strongest countries such as Russia and the U.S. How much better would it be if these countries would fairly communicate and work together to develop a vaccine? A vaccine would probably already have been developed! Unfortunately, this is not the case. One nation will develop a vaccine and gain leverage and power over others. Who will this nation be? Only time can tell.

The Education We Deserve

    Have you ever felt like you're missing out on something, or that you're being cheated from having an experience? I have found myself feeling this way quite recently, especially as I am nearing the end of my first college semester. Obviously many things regarding school have changed due to the coronavirus, and I can't help but feel cheated on not a college experience  in general but specifically on my education.

    

    I am a part of various clubs and organizations on campus. However, every single one of them have had to alter their activities as well as form of meeting together because of Covid. One example I could use is my Korean language club. This was one of the clubs I was most excited about, since the beginning of the semester. I was so thrilled  join this club as I knew that I wanted to sometime in my college career study abroad in South Korea. I had read a lot about the fairly new club and saw all of the interesting cultural and interactive activities they conducted as part of the learning experience. I was looking forward to all of these amazing opportunities! Unfortunately, all of the social activities had been taken out of the club's program and we are currently only meeting online. While I have been able to still learn a lot through the club, I still feel like I have missed out on a more effective experience learning the foreign language.

 

    The Korean language club, however is just one of the few ways in which I feel cheated of my education.  I have had to get tutored more times than I can remember for my MA 109 class, because of the difficulty of learning the material over zoom lectures with my professor. I have also not been able to shadow a physician as I will need to for my degree. While I have been doing fairly well in my classes I have not been able to really apply anything that I have learned, making me feel that I will not remember those specific concepts when needed in the future.  However, I am not the only individual who feels this way. There have been multiple memes, as well as TikTok ( a short-form video sharing app) skits, discussing the fact that professionals, specifically medical professionals will not understand many concepts because of the way that they are being taught at the moment, due to the pandemic. What frightens me the most is that no one knows when the craziness of this pandemic will come to an end. When will things be normal so that individuals can truly gain all that they can gain out of their educational experience?

   

Meme Discussing Future Medical Professionals Lack of Knowledge Due to Their Pandemic Learning Experience

COVID Vaccines and Global Cooperation

     "If we make a vaccine, everybody can be treated, and everything will go back to normal." Wouldn't that be nice. Unfortunately, it is not this simple to produce and deliver vaccines, especially in the case of a pandemic. Producing and delivering Covid vaccines (if ever developed) would not be an easy task. In order for this to be done effectively, there has to be global integration and cooperation.

    There are so many reasons why there has to be global integration in order for a vaccine against Covid to be produced. Countries should be working together to produce a vaccine already. This should definitely not be a competition to see who can create a vaccine first or who can create a better vaccine. Different countries should come together, as they each have different perspectives leading to more innovative ideas, to form a vaccine as well as a plan for how to deliver the vaccine to regions across the world. That being said countries do have different resources. So for example one country could create the vaccine while another tests it, and another mass produces it. Also one country could produce the syringes, another provide containers to store the medicine, and another provide vehicles or means of transport for the vaccine.

    While it will be helpful in various ways if countries cooperate to develop and deliver the Covid vaccine, their are various issues that could possibly occur as well. One issue could involve the methods of shipping the vaccines because of the temperature requirement that the vaccine may need to be kept at. Also timing and amount would have to be essential between countries to ensure that each country is getting a fair amount of not only the vaccine itself but also medical devices, such as syringes to distribute the vaccine, as well as shipping the vaccine out to all countries in the same time frame. 

    Overall I believe that countries should put aside their differences and try to get this pandemic under control. So many times in the past nations have failed due to lack of cooperation. With an unexpected event like the coronavirus, the fastest and most effective way to develop a vaccine is to cooperate to produce, deliver, and distribute the vaccine. Will this end up happening? No one is sure. Still to this day, there are wars and feuds between nations. Regardless of the fact, countries needs to notice the bigger enemy -the virus- and use global integration and cooperation to hopefully bring an end to the coronavirus.

Will It Ever Go Back to Normal?

     Will it ever go back to normal? This is one question I believe everyone may be asking right now. Twenty twenty seemed like it was going to be such a great year. Unfortunately, the coronavirus changed everything. It has now been eight months since the coronavirus has been deeply affecting the United States. Graduation did not happen for me, prom did not happen, and neither did my final year of high school track and field. Things have just been heading towards the negative. The question is , however, is this going to end?

    Now that I'm in college, I have seen many rules in regards to the coronavirus. The University has put out so many rules in hopes of diminishing the count of students testing positive for the coronavirus. Has the University been strict on maintaining their rules? Yes. Have students been listening to the rules? That, I cannot really answer. Most students seem as though they are, but it is quite easy for a college student to do whatever they want without anyone finding out. Have students rates of positive covid test gone down? Absolutely, not. A lot of rules have been extended for longer periods of time, because no progress is being seen. In all reality it feels as though we're stuck in a shell. However, "going back to normal" is not the solution. 

    Not just America, but the world has arrived at a very unique spot in health and healthcare. To be honest, going back would not solve anything at all, but would only leave us unprepared for an event like this to occur. The solution is to move forward. This pandemic is a chance for scientist, researchers, and just individuals in general, to be able to learn more about pandemics and to be better prepared for another situation similar to the coronavirus pandemic that may occur. So to answer the question, "Will it ever go back to normal?" No. And we don't want it to. The only way for things to get better is to move forward.

The Flu or COVID-19?

     What do you think of when someone sneezes or coughs? Is it the same thing you though maybe a year ago? Probably not. One of the main things, other than the election or course, that people are extremely stressed about is getting the flu. With the flu and the coronavirus having similar symptoms, many people are worried about getting the flu for fear that it may be the coronavirus. Of course there are tests to determine whether one has the flu or corona, the thought of even just getting sick has become more devastating than before.

    As flu season is approaching, many individuals are already starting to get sick. Many are just experiencing allergies, while some are actually dealing with the flu, and some with both. It is evident that in a time like this getting the flu can be very daunting. Immediately an individual is going to think they have the coronavirus if they get a fever, have a cough, or even just a headache. I believe that this year's flu is going to be very difficult for people to cope with, because of the fear that they are getting the coronavirus.

    In my personal opinion, I believe getting sick is one of the factors that is troubling people, but that the main issue may be the fact of others knowing that that one individual is sick. It is not only embarrassing, but also frightening to cough and sneeze in public nowadays. Normally you will get a disgusted look from at least one individual, who you suppose is assuming that you have the coronavirus. I have actually experienced this myself. While going to the library to study one morning, I suddenly felt an itch in my nose. I tried to hold it back but eventually gave in and just sneezed. Unfortunately, I was in a reading room, so you can only imagine how "bass-boosted" my sneeze was. I just remember, putting my head down in shame knowing that all eyes were on me. I'm sure that anyone can say they have experienced this at least once. 

    There are both coronavirus tests and also flu tests that are being made available and affordable in many places at the moment. So anyone who may be worried that they have the virus, or anyone who feels that someone they know may have the virus, can rest assured, because there are test out there to determine that. For the time being though, let us not judge others when someone may sneeze or cough, because sometimes you'll never really know if it is the flu or COVID-19.

Symptom comparison of the flu and the coronavirus

    

Online Education During Covid - Is it Really as Beneficial as Before?

     As I have talked about previously in my blog, education has definitely been impacted by the coronavirus. Most of learning now is through online programs such as zoom or google meet. Some individuals have been affected more than others through this change in education. 

   Personally, I do believe that online learning has not provided an equal opportunity for learning during Covid. The most obvious reason I have for this would probably be that obviously not every individual has an electronic on which they can do coursework and also not every individual has access to internet. For example, I went to high school in a very small, rural county. I would say that at least half of the students did not have access to internet. This made it very difficult for them when schools shut down in March, because at the beginning of each unit, those individuals who did not have access to internet, had to drive to the school to pick up a packet and work on coursework. If that was not enough of a struggle, the coursework most of the time was not even the same coursework that was taught to those who were online. While I did have access to internet, I still felt bad for the students who had to go through all the work with packets. A lot of individuals ended up just quitting at the end of the school year, including seniors who were just months away from completing their high school career. Another reason why I believe that online learning has not provided equal opportunity for learning is because many individuals fall greatly behind in their online coursework because they are someone they care about has affected by COVID-19.

    I do believe that there should be a hardship clause for students in situations like this. Being online is difficult. It takes a lot of work and resources and when you aren't able to afford these resources or some outside factor is causing you to perform poorly, help should be provided to you. I believe that students who are directly impacted by the coronavirus should not have easier work, but less work. However, that would mean they would have to take an extra semester of that class in the spring, winter, or summer. Let me try to simplify this. For example let's say there is a student who is in a Chemistry class. This class is to much for her to deal with as she has to take care of her grandmother, who recently came back from the hospital after being treated from COVID-19. A program (the one that I have made up for students who are struggling due to COVID-19) that consists of a Chemistry class with less overall material is available to her. While this class has less material making it seem easier, it forces you to take an extra semester of Chemistry to catch up with everything. I think this program would be implemented fairly because it comes with a price. If you take the less dense material it will take you a longer time to finish/ earn your degree. 

    My experiences with learning online have been both good and bad. I do like having the liberty and freedom to somewhat do my work whenever I please, but it is also problematic because it makes it more easily to procrastinate. I have had a lot of struggle with my math class in particular, because there always seems to be an issue disrupting our online lectures. If it's not cats, then it's the professor getting kicked out of the meeting or the professor not knowing how to get the mic turned on. Overall that class has just been extremely chaotic, causing more than half of the students to have very poor grades.

    To be honest, I do feel like I'm being a little cheated on my education, with it being online. Online schooling for me, personally, has led me to become pretty lazy. I don't really try to memorize concepts because most of the exams are open note, I normally leave my work for last minute, and a lot of times do not pay attention to lectures in class because I tell myself that I can learn the material later. Because of all of this, I believe I will be less competitive in the job market. However, COVID-19 is not responsible for all of this. As a student it is my responsibility to make sure that I am doing the absolute best that I can, regardless of the situation.    

UK Core Issue: How Do We Distribute Covid Vaccines?

     For a little while now, scientist and researchers have been working on a vaccine for the coronavirus. While there have been different vaccines that have seemed to be the cure, none has yet been proven to cure those who attain COVID-19. Much research has been done, there have been multiple test trials of certain vaccines, and so much more has been done to find a vaccine. If a vaccine were discovered, how would it be ethically distributed.

    As a student at the University of Kentucky, I have formulated an idea of how I believe a coronavirus vaccine (if developed) should be distributed here in Fayette County, Kentucky. If there were only enough vaccine for a third of this county, I would say that the first to be vaccinated would be those actively working in the medical field. Being that this is quite a broad population, I would say that the vaccination should be given to front-line medical workers first. This does include any staff that may or may not be a doctor or nurse. For example, a custodian who works in an area/ section of the hospital that puts them at risk of attaining the coronavirus should be required to get a vaccination just as much as a doctor or nurse who may be working in that same area. After front-line workers have gotten it then I believe that those who are currently sick due to the coronavirus should get the vaccine. Notice how I put the front-line workers before the individuals who are directly being affected by the coronavirus. I made this decision because I believe that one (any individual who has COVID-19) will not be able to heal if those that are trying to take care of them are not immune to the virus. For example, a patient (with COVID) who is being taken care of by a doctor who could possibly have COVID-19, will not really be able to heal. 

    If there is any vaccine left, I believe that it should go to families who have loved ones who have had the coronavirus. After that I would say any individual who is working a job that is counted as "essential". For example those who work at warehouse and shipping companies and grocery stores.

    To ensure that those who need the vaccine most gets the vaccine first, I would make sure that it is affordable for everyone. I also believe that distributing the vaccine in the order that I mentioned above will ensure that those who need the vaccine most gets it first. 

    When discussing contextual factors, there are many factors that need to be determined. Age, previous health issues, exposure to the virus, and geographic region are all examples of contextual factors that would have to be determined when distributing the virus. For example, to determine which doctors, nurses, or faculty members get the vaccine first you would have to base that on which doctors, nurses, or faculty members are older. So an older doctor would most likely get vaccinated first.

    Taking on this task of distributing the vaccine would definitely be difficult. However, I do believe that through the formulated plan that I have discussed above, those who need the vaccine the most will get it first. While I do believe in my plan, it is quite difficult to determine what will work best when discussing distribution of a vaccine. Hopefully a plan is developed soon and hopefully it is effective in taking care of all individuals who may or even may not be affected!

Stuck in the Middle of Opinions

    Over the weekend, one of the largest news of the year hit the United States. And I do stress the fact that this news has been just one of crazy news of this year, because as is clear, this year has been filled with very many crazy events. The U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the Covid-19. This news was sent out Thursday night on Fox News, according to the New York Times. Many people were shocked by the news, while others saw it coming. Just to show how much I keep up with the news, I knew nothing about what had happened up until Friday evening after scrolling through my Instagram and seeing my feed bombarded with individual opinions about the political news. I personally tried to avoid entering conversations and all of media in general to avoid conflict. 

    As someone who does not enjoy politics, I really do try to avoid the news in general. Unfortunately, this is not a very good way to cope with situations around you because it is important to be aware of what's going on in your country. Since the news about the president has come out many people have had their personal beliefs and feelings. I have seen conflict in quite a few places, but there has been one specific that has somewhat directly affected me. 

    While on social media, a few days after the news of the president was released, one of my friends posted her opinion of the situation. Let's call this friend number 1.  Less than an hour later, one of my other friends (let's call this friend number 2) posted friend number 1's post, shaming her opinion. Apparently there was a long argument, and being friends with both individuals, I got caught in the middle of it. The argument lasted for a while, until it ended with a change in relationship between the two individuals. This situation really made me want to get even further away from politics. The question I'm left with is, "Is it really important to become involved with politics, especially during a time like this, or is it better to stay away and not risk ruining relationships?"

Pop Culture's Relation to the Coronavirus

    While it may seem that the coronavirus has had a negatively huge affect on pop culture, ironically, pop culture has mended its way into the pandemic. It has become a part of the pandemic. An example of this is a trend that began on Instagram in the U.S. called the #IStayHomeFor challenge. Many celebrities took part in this challenge trying to raise awareness of the coronavirus and how important it was for people to stay at home so that they were not only protecting themselves, but also those around them. Just a few of the celebrities who participated in this program include Emma Watson, Demi Lovato, and Milly Bobbie Brown.

Emma Watson participating in the #istayhomefor instagram challenge

Millie Bobbie Brown participating in the #istayhomefor challenge

Demi Lovato participating in the #istayathomefor challenge

    

    This trend then became a "thing" and all people (not just fans) jumped aboard the challenge as well, sharing their own personal reasons for staying home. This is clear evidence of the way pop culture has played a part in awareness of the coronavirus in the U.S.. However, we have also seen a how pop culture has become a part of the pandemic in other countries.

    Let's go over seas, and take a look at how Korean Pop (K-pop) has become a part of the pandemic in South Korea. Daegu, one of the largest cities in South Korea, was hit the hardest by the coronavirus. Many were being infected as the virus spreaded quickly. South Korean boy band, BTS, was truly hurt by this and decided to do what they could. Suga, one of the eldest members of BTS, was devastated because he lived and grew up in Daegu. As a result, he donated 100 million won (US $86,00) to Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association, to prevent the spread of the virus. Similarly, 11, 000 BTS fans, also known as A.R.M.Y (Adorable Representative MC for Youth) donated more than half a billion won to the same relief association. Many others used their ticket refunds from BTS' April concert to provide goods for those suffering due to the pandemic. This is just one of the very few ways that BTS has provided help and support during the coronavirus. 

    As is seen, pop culture is somewhat extremely important in relation to global health. It has taken a significant role in the coronavirus pandemic. We have seen this not only in the U.S., but also around the world.

   

Time to Fill Up!

     With the pandemic, we have seen many price fluctuations. Prices have increased immensely for some items, while prices for others have gone down. However, today, I want to focus on the price change in gas. I can remember about a week after the pandemic began, hearing my Dad come home from work telling all of us who had cars to go "fill up" soon, because the gas price had dropped to one dollar and twenty-five cents (one of the lowest prices seen in Kentucky in a very long time)! While I have not been living in the U.S. for long, this was the lowest I had seen gasoline prices in Kentucky. 

    I suppose it is pretty obvious that the reason for the price drop in gasoline was due to the road traffic dropping. Gasoline companies had no choice, but to drop their prices! The price remained low in my hometown for about a week. While it did seem almost pointless for me to fill my car up with gas while having nowhere to go, it was still nice to be able to fill up for such a low price and very interesting to see the almost full dollar decrease in gas. I was left completely in awe of how drastic of a change the pandemic could make in the environment. What I had not realized was that this gas price drop was just one of the few changes that would occur due to the pandemic.

                                    Gas price in my hometown at the beginning of the pandemic

Covid Binge or Covid Diet?

     The coronavirus has brought about many different things this year. One of them being a difference in the way people eat. People have either put on a lot of weight or lost a lot of weight. In my household there has been somewhat of a significant difference in the way that my family and I eat now versus how we ate before the start of this pandemic. 

    If I were to rate the way that my family eats in general I would say that it is pretty good. Even before the beginning of the pandemic my family would normally eat fresh, home cooked meals. We would eat out at restaurants once every 2-3 months! Of course we did have Cheez-Its in our pantry and ice cream in our freezer, but for the most part we tried to maintain healthy eating habits. 

    However, when the pandemic hit we had to alter our eating habits a little bit more. Of course, since all restaurants were closed at the time, we always ate at home. Also, we were almost forced to buy healthy food at the grocery store because most of the junk food was gone whenever we'd go grocery shopping. We would walk into through the aisles and almost all the prepackaged, unhealthy food was gone ( most likely due to the fact that people were stocking up on "easy" food). Ironically, it was a blessing. My family and I ate more fruits and vegetables, drank more water instead of soda, and as a result, lost a lot of weight while also gaining strength.

    Overall, I will have to say that our diet has improved since the pandemic began. We made an overall decision together, duding the pandemic,  that we would take care of our health, and diet was definitely a huge part of it. It was very easy for me to eat healthy before Covid-19 and even healthier during because my parents strictly believed in a healthy diet. 

"Hello From the Other Side"- College Communication Throughout a Pandemic

    What is key to a good relationship? What is key to a good marriage? What is key to anything, really? It's communication. Since the beginning of this pandemic, communication has changed greatly. It has brought challenges to business, schools, and people all over the world. For the little time that I have been in college, I have noticed how strange and difficult it is to communicate with not only faculty and professors but even peers due the coronavirus.

    Most of my classes this semester are online, as is the case for most students. Exams are coming up next week and I am slightly concerned. While I have taken plenteous notes, made note cards, and listened to numerous online lectures I feel as though I haven't learned anything. As a visual and active learner, being online has been quite difficult. It is of course nice to be able to roll out of bed and begin your school day , but grasping the material can be difficult online. When trying to communicate with my teachers over Zoom, an online face to face chat service, it seems as though some technical issue always comes up. For example, in my online Geo class today, my mic suddenly stopped working while I was trying to participate in a discussion. I had to log off of the app completely and rejoin the meeting only to find out that the discussion was over.

    Communicating with faculty through masks has been probably the most awkward. While both students and faculty understand the current situation, it does get somewhat annoying having to repeat yourself over and over again because you can't hear each other underneath the mask.

    Last, but definitely not least, communication with peers has been different. It's very difficult enough already meet people with restrictions, due to the pandemic, but it's also very difficult to get to know people. Every time conversations begin, the coronavirus comes up and it seems to takeover  the entire conservation. Suddenly, you end up simply talking about the problems it has caused rather than getting to know the individual. 

    Communication has definitely become a new experience. However, instead of looking at it as a problem, maybe this new way of communication will teach our society something new and help it develop as a whole.

Online college class on zoom

    

    

Coronavirus: What Am I To Believe?

    Since the beginning of this pandemic, different information about the coronavirus has been broadcasted throughout the media. News channels say one thing and government officials say another, while millions decided to use their own interpretation as their basis for the knowledge of this virus.

    If I'm being completely honest, throughout this pandemic, I have not really been following along with the latest news. I try my best to avoid it, because it always puts me in a bad mood. Occasionally, I will look at Apple News f only because it shows up on my laptop every day. Every now and then I look at the CDC and watch Fox News. I also will occasionally read journal articles from Universities. However, if I'm being honest I don't know who to trust. My parents will occasionally tell me what they hear on the radio, but even they don't whole-heartedly trust it. Whenever I watch the news, I normally only pay attention when a health official is speaking. I trust the direct words of a health official slightly more than that of other officials. However, even them I don't trust so much. Since the beginning of this pandemic, I've tried to filter all the information that I take in by following CDC guidelines. However, if I had to chose one source I would probably say journal articles from universities, simply because I know that they have research behind the information they are sharing. 

    

    As far as my family and friends I can't think of anyone who I believe is relying on faulty information because I don't really know what is faulty or what isn't. Because of that I have not really had any conflict in my life. 

    I would say that the reason I'm not sure who to trust or what to trust is because of how politicized the pandemic has become. This corona virus has almost somewhat brought a greater divide between people. I have not personally been affected, but have seen different things on social media grouping people who don't follow the CDC guidelines as republicans and those who do as democrats. Even if they don't say it directly, they imply it. This politicization of the coronavirus is starting to become slightly scarier than the virus itself. Are people going to loose their lives, because of their political party? Is someone going to put another individual at risk of attaining the virus, because there political beliefs are too important? There's not telling what will happen next due to the politicization of the corona virus!

    

Has It Made It's Way To My Floor?

    Everyday that passes by it's hard not to wonder if you will get the coronavirus. It seems like everyday you hear of somebody that sadly gets the virus. Coming to college I was a little worried knowing that I was going to be around a lot more people than I had been around since the pandemic began. 

    I moved in about a little in about five weeks ago. Since I lived quite near the university and there wasn't much going on at campus yet, I decided to go back home for a couple days. Moving in, eased my anxiety about being around so many people up until I received a text message from our dorm's group chat saying that someone from our dorm got the virus. I can remember laying on my bed at home that night, watching my phone get bombarded with text messages. Many people were getting pretty nervous, while others were trying to tell everyone to stay calm. Personally, I wasn't worried because the student had not even arrived on campus yet. 

 

    After staying home for a bit I went back to college. During move-in week, I was already hearing chit chat about parties. While many thought it would be fun, others, including myself, tried to warn them about bringing the virus not only to campus, but specifically, our dorms. I had a friend who was already being quarantined on campus, and I did not want that to happen to us. Unfortunately, many did not listen and that lead to a problem; someone on my floor got the corona virus. I remember the day I heard that news our floor was overpowered with the smell of lysol. I quickly walked into my room, pinching my nose to avoid the smell. After getting in my room, I was starting to worry not really about myself, but about bringing the virus to my family back home.

    Thankfully, since I've arrived on campus, nothing more/worse has happened to or around me in regards to the covid-19 . However, as a student all you can do is carry on with you daily life while following guidelines, and only hope and pray that you aren't the next to get the virus.

All Online?!

     We are approaching the four week mark since the beginning of classes. From eating at the student center to studying at the library to simply just hanging out with friends I have noticed many different things making me wonder if we will spend the rest of the semester on campus or not. If I were to give a definite answer as to how I think the semester would end, I would not only be lying to myself, but also to every one else. Personally, I believe that my viewpoints on the matter have changed from my first week here to now.

    The week I arrived at the university I was somewhat sure that within two weeks, we would be completely online.  I noticed a lot of students going out to parties, a lot of "non-social distancing", and also numerous students ignoring health guidelines when authorities weren't around. To be honest, I was a little worried not only about getting the Covid-19, but also not being able to stay on campus. However, after a couple of weeks my viewpoint changed.

    It wasn't till about my third week of being on campus, that I actually started to believe that we would be able to finish the semester on campus. After things slowed down a bit, and classes began to get "intense", I noticed a change in the actions of my peers. On my way to my in-person classes, I noticed more people keeping their masks on, more social distancing, and heard of less parties. Don't get me wrong though, all of these things are still happening on campus, just not as much as the first weeks.

     While I have complete faith in the university and am happy that they are doing so much to make sure everyone is safe, I do believe that it is in the hands of the students to determine whether or not we spend the rest of the semester on campus. From what I have observed lately, I do believe that we will be able to make it to the end of semester without having to completely go online. However, as mentioned earlier this is in the hands of the students and their actions can change at any moment. So, Big Blue Nation, what are we going to do about it?

First Week of Classes

     If there’s one thing I thought could not get more confusing, it was college. However, thanks to this worldwide pandemic, there has been a great change for colleges all across the world.

    About two weeks ago, classes started back up at the University of Kentucky ( the college I am attending). I was about to leave my dorm, but soon quickly remembered to grab my mask and sanitizer. As I started heading to my classroom building, I noticed multiple signs all across campus reminding students to wear their masks, wash their hands, and maintain a 6 feet distance between them and others. 

                                               Sign on table at Student Center promoting social distancing

Sign on table at Student Center encouraging students to watch their hands

    As I entered the classroom of one of my only two in-person classes, I felt extremely awkward walking into a large lecture hall containing only about 15 students. The professor stood behind a podium surrounded by what I comprehended as a plastic shielded wall. Finally, after an hour and fifteen minutes of us students trying to hear our professor behind her mask, class was over.

    On my way to lunch, I was stopped by a reporter who asked me multiple questions addressing how the adjustment to classes have been. Internally, I was saying how strange it was. However, after thinking about it (at least for the five seconds I had to think, before the reporter expected an answer), I replied saying that I knew the university was doing all they could to keep everyone safe and that ultimately everyone was just happy to be on campus.

WKYT asks students if they feel safe on campus

Experiencing a Pandemic as a Biracial Teen

    As I'm sitting at my kitchen table looking out at the dark sky, I'm reflecting on how the covid-19 has affected me and my family so far. For fourteen years, I lived on the island of Haiti. My family and I were missionaries in the country. Since I could remember I had always been actively helping my parents lead hurricane relief efforts, build churches, and share the Bible  to the natives of the country. About three years ago, my family and I moved to the U.S. Our transition to Kentucky has been strenuous as is, but little did we know what was awaiting us in 2020. 

    Looking back to March, I was at my high school's track finishing up my last lap for the day, getting ready for the first race of the season. Everyone had practiced really hard and was ready to take on our first race. We had all heard rumors stating that few high schools had shut down due to a virus that was rapidly spreading. My team and coaches were confident, however, that our school wouldn't soon do the same. However, the very next day we received news that not only was our school being shut down, but there was going to be a nationwide lockdown. I can't really explain in words what was going through my mind at the moment, however, I do remember thinking about my extended family living in Haiti. 

    As the days kept going, the virus seemed to continue to spread more rapidly and globally. When I had seen that it reached Haiti, I felt extremely uneasy. I knew how expensive, yet terrible the healthcare was in the country, and was afraid that if someone in my extended family caught the virus, they wouldn't be able to recover from it. 

    A couple weeks later, I heard news that my Gran (Haitian Creole for Grandma), and Tati( Haitian Creole for Aunt) were extremely sick. I then began to worry even greater wondering if they had caught the virus. My family and I talked to them over the phone daily, checking to make sure they weren't getting worse. My aunt and grandma had no idea whether they had the virus or not and with the country attempting to lock down, riots were occurring frequently making it unsafe for them to leave their house and visit a doctor. With the help of home remedies, they were able to recover slowly. However, I don't know what would have been more painful, actually being badly ill, or being ill and recovering, without knowing if you had this globally disastrous virus.

    As this pandemic continues around the world, it has been extremely painful knowing that my extended family isn't all together or at least on the same land mass. My immediate family and I constantly call to see how they are doing, as that is all that we can do at the moment to help.