Advice from a High School Girl

The coronavirus is a widespread global pandemic. When I first started reading about the COVID-19 in January, it was hard to believe that my life would be affected by the virus. When COVID-19 first came into conversation, there were plenty of excuses that people thought would keep us safe like “the virus only affects the elderly”, “not that many people are dying”, or “the US is prepared, so COVID-19 won’t be a big deal”. This is actually a psychological coping mechanism that many people were expressing without even realizing it. Our minds refused to acknowledge that our lives were in danger, so we convinced ourselves that COVID-19 would not affect us at all. 

I am sure we all wish that we knew the way that COVID-19 would impact our everyday lives. However, there is no reason to feel guilty for under-playing the disease in the past, because this psychological function is meant to be a defense mechanism to keep us safe and healthy. Instead of trying to blame others, let’s focus on what can be done now that we are in the midst of a global pandemic. Staying inside and social distancing is the best thing that we can do. Even though staying inside all day away from friends and family can feel lonely, we are in this together. 

With that said, think before you make any trips outside of the house. Limit the amount of non-essential trips you go on and ask yourself what is essential. Remember, that we are in this together, which means that everyone needs to do their part as a team and stay inside. This is not easy for anyone, so please, don’t make the situation worse by going to Atomic with a car full of friends every other day. Take a minute to think of the people you might put at risk and re-ask yourself if your trip is essential. The sooner that our society can come together by staying inside, the sooner we can join as a group with one another outside. 

At the moment, only 64% of Americans are social distancing. The higher the percentage is the faster the US will recover from this tragedy. Lots of mistakes have been made through our government and society. Rather than abandoning our systems, we can learn from our mistakes, and better our society for our future generations. Learning the hard way is never easy, so let’s learn the first time. Be considerate, be safe, and let’s learn from this together.