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?"