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How has the pandemic affected your work, or your schoolwork? Give an example or two.
This photograph is of my school schedule, which will start in approximately a week. Here's what I wrote about in in my last blog post: "Also, schools are opening up in my area. There's been very little communication from them about what in-person/hybrid learning is going to look like, even though they've already asked us to commit to one option (hybrid) or another (completely virtual). I got interviewed by the local paper about it, and that interview should show up tomorrow or the day after. The way that the school district has decided to reopen is classes in the morning online, followed by class either online or in person, depending which option you opted in to. There are two in-person cohorts (one goes into school on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the other on Thursdays and Fridays) and one virtual cohort. There is no school on Wednesdays, which has been the case throughout virtual school and will continue to be the case in hybrid mode. Though hybrid school starts in a week, no one knows what cohort they belong to. Evidentially, communication is not Seattle Public Schools' strong suit. Oh well, right?" Schoolwork is definitely going to be very different than it is now. I won't be able to google questions on the homework that I don't understand, ha ha. And I won't be able to multitask and do other work during class. I'll have to actually get dressed in the morning. Also, I've never been in the building before and have no idea where my classes are, which should be interesting. I'm sure there'll be a lot of other change, too, but I can't think of any at this moment.
April 10, 2021
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Has the pandemic affected your political views in any way? If so, how?
In November 2020, I did something new - I voted for Joe Biden for President. To be clear, I had never intended to vote for him. Raised by Republican parents, as time progressed, I moved predominately to the center. In the 2016 election, I voted independent and fully intended to repeat that in 2020. But the days before the election, I grew overwhelmingly disgusted with both political parties. If you had mentioned any of the following words - "Supreme Court replacement, Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, fake news, mail in ballots, stimulus" - it triggered me. I started January incredibly interested in the political process but ended October just relieved that it was nearly over. Overall, I felt that the coronavirus reinforced my belief that politicians don't care about the common man or woman. For example, last year, they forced all these businesses to close but had no plan on how to compensate those businesses. We allowed politicians to determine what businesses qualified as "essential" and that irked me. I don't like government overreaching and deciding what businesses can be open or not open. I also couldn't understand how we could only pass one stimulus plan before December 2020. Although I was not personally affected, my heart went out to all the people I know in the service industry who couldn't find another job. I guess, the coronavirus made me more disgusted than ever with the political process. Despite that, when it came time to vote, I decided that I would rather return to the status quo than continue on our current trajectory. I felt that although I have benefited financially during the pandemic, I was okay with paying more in taxes to help others who have been less fortunate.
March 29, 2021