COVID-19 has so greatly affected our community and not for the better. We have to stay six feet apart from each other, all wear masks and gloves. We can’t come together as a community anymore because no more than 10 people in a room or space at one time.

I feel as though nothing will change if people don’t start following the guidelines given to them to keep them safe, who knows what will happen? In the state of Illinois, we were put under a stay at home order, which is pretty self explanatory right? I guess not. Someone should explain this to the people who spend $60 or more at McDonalds instead of staying home. 

People crowd places like Walmart and Target trying to buy all the toilet paper and hand sanitizer. But I don’t get to finish my senior year like a normal student would. If I was a college senior, I would be more upset. They paid thousands of dollars to go to school and get that higher education most people seek. They’re paying their college to not be able to even be their. Their homes were stripped from them, their lives flipped upside down, being forced to go back into their jam packed parents house with all their siblings again.

This virus has had social media outlets booming, screen time skyrocketing and bank accounts dropping. Online shopping is the new way of living, all we do is eat, sleep and repeat. Our lives have come to a complete stop. People are deemed important and unimportant, those important people going face-to-face with people who may have the virus. The unimportant people can’t even afford to feed their families or keep their electricity on. It’s become more than just essential vs. unessential. It’s become the way of life. People trying to keep their lives afloat and others just wanting to catch their breath.

Online schooling has been tough on everyone. It’s not easy for students who go to school from 8:00-3:30 every day to not have to make that trip to school, when now you can just roll over and grab your phone and do the daily assignments that way. You don’t even need to get dressed. You don’t need to rush to beat the traffic from your classmates and their parents. It’s not easy, but that’s because none of us were prepared for the shocking uproot of our normal, everyday lives. 

Plot twist, this is your new normal. Your new, everyday life. Enjoy.