Bugging About The Virus

My New Normal: Juggling The Pandemic With Life 

By: Nina Borja

        Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic spread, there has been a drastic change of pace in almost every aspect of what people consider "normal". Businesses are functioning at a different standard, people are reflecting more on the significance of essential workers, and health consciousness has entered a new league of precaution. Everyone is affected by Covid-19 in one form or another which, in a way, can be comforting to know that no one is alone in their struggles. Coming from a family of mainly health care providers and registered nurses, the fear of the pandemic entering my doorstep hit very close to home. My mother, for example, works weekends in the Intensive Care Unit, while my father works overnight shifts in the Emergency Room. I'm still concerned about their safety every time they go to work, the same way I'm sure they are concerned about exposing the virus when they come home. Thankfully, however, my family is lucky enough to still be safe and healthy. It can be difficult to stay positive during a chaotic time like now, but if there is one thing my mom keeps reminding me, it's taking one day at a time. 

    Handling a pandemic in one's personal life can, at times, be frustrating. There has been a lot of projects and plans I have planned in the upcoming months that just had to be put on pause. My family comes from all over the world. From my motherland, The Philippines, to Cambridge, UK, to Califonia and Canada, My family meets every or so year to have a reunion. Usually around this time of the year, traditionally before school begins, I see my cousins, my titas, and my titos with my siblings and parents. However, because of restricted traveling due to the pandemic, we all had to save our in-person reunion for a later and, more importantly, safer time. It's not all bad though. Thanks to the age of technology, I can still group facetime, my family, anytime I want. 

 Social distancing is a necessity in order to remain safe, not only for yourself but for others around you as well. When I go out in public, it's mostly for grocery shopping or for my part-time job. Ironically, I can multitask these two things because I work at Trader Joe's. Keeping a six-foot distance from others can be tricky when you work at a small branch location, but most of the time, I surprisingly found that most people are pretty accommodating when you tell them you need more space. For the small percentage of people that do give me a hard time about social distancing, I simply remove myself from the situation and walk away. An argument about the validity of safety precautions is not as important as my health. 

    Since my parents and I all work in areas that have a high risk for the virus, I changed my semester schedule to remote learning from home. Although I am not positive for Covid-19, I don't want to risk spreading the virus on campus. I miss the traditional learning environments and the fun activities I do with my friends, but everyone's safety comes first. On a brighter note, as a commuter, I won't have to deal with traffic or parking inflation for a little bit. If I can say one thing about driving to campus, it's that I don't miss it.