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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
A few nights ago, my husband and I went to a light show in a nearby park. I think we were the only ones walking around without little kids in tow! But still it was nice to do a "normal" activity that hasn't been changed or modified due to the pandemic. Yes, many people, including all the young children, wore masks (we live in a highly compliant region) but other that it was simply laughter and smiles and enjoyment. Once again, peoples' plans are being turned upside down by nervousness and anxiety around covid. Everyone and I mean everyone has one or more friends, family member, colleague or neighbor with a break through case of covid. And we are all triple vaxxed, mask-wearing folks! Fortunately, I have not heard of anyone with a serious illness... cases range from barely symptomatic to flu-like and in bed for a few days. But no hospitalizations. So far my immediate family has escaped...but it is beginning to feel like it is a matter of "when" one of us will contract covid, not "if." I just have to hope it will be mild as so many of these cases are now. I've actually been enjoying this very quiet week, catching up on things around the house. We don't celebrate Christmas and we got to celebrate Hanukah with extended family several weeks ago before Omicron arrived in full force bringing a halt to so many plans. I'm grateful that both my kids are away from their NYC homes this week and enjoying warmer weather and outdoor activities in Florida. Given how loose FL is about masks, I'm surprised to find myself saying this... but they can enjoy themselves more there now than in NYC. My 88 year old father is a bit down in the dumps about Omicron's spread. He has cancelled several "social" plans and that is hard for him. He doesn't ask my advice and I don't give it... he is a cautious person by nature and a worrier. We both know that although he is good health overall, his age alone makes him more likely to get a severe case, should he catch it. So, he prefers to be cautious and not go to a New Year's Eve party. I may be mistaken but I am hopeful that in a few weeks, the worse of this Omicron variant will be behind us. That is what the news from South Africa seems to indicate. It is a fast moving variant. And hopefully, nothing worse will take its place. Maybe, just maybe, 2022 will be the start to the end of this pandemic. And that gives me hope as we ring in the New Year!
January 4, 2022
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Has the pandemic affected your political views in any way? If so, how?
The pandemic has affected my political views a lot. Before the pandemic started, I was seventeen. I turned eighteen a few months after lockdown had started and on top of that, the presidential election occurred around five months after that, still in the midst of the pandemic. Turning eighteen and having the presidential election occur in the same year and during the pandemic caused a lot of big changes to my political views. I grew up in a family that didn’t talk about or express their political views very often. I guessed that my parents were republican/voted republican because they were Christian and a lot of their views that they subtly expressed or talked about lined up with what I thought was repiblican. Looking back, I do think this was pretty accurate. I personally just followed in my parents footsteps until I gained some motivation to do my own research and gain my own beliefs or views. To be honest, I really didn’t look into politics much at all until after the pandemic started. I knew that I was turning eighteen soon and that it was election year, so I started paying more attention to politics and getting into more conversations with my friends and family. I don’t think I would have been motivated to be as involved in politics had it not been for the pandemic. I am really grateful that I had motivation to get involved and start caring about politics, even if it was because of an awful pandemic. At the same time, it’s kind of disappointing that my reason for getting involved was over a health and disease issue. I don’t think that a disease should ever be as political as COVID-19 has gotten. I know there are various political aspects, but I feel like COVID-19 has become purely a political topic to many Americans. I also learned a bit more about my parents views and how they have changed, which really helped me form some of my own views as well. My parents and I agree with a lot of things regarding politics now, after they have changed quite a bit. I think for them, the pandemic has become a big motivator to reassess their political views. I have heard of a lot of people experiencing these kinds of changes and I think it’s awesome to see people finding their true views because of the pandemic. If the pandemic had not happened at the time that it did, with me turning eighteen and being able to vote, I don’t think I would have voted because I wouldn’t have gotten as involved in politics. It wasn’t something I wanted to get involved in before because of the stigma surrounding it. I had seen many friendships end because of varying views and beliefs and I wanted to stay as far away from that as possible. Now, I know how to be involved in discussion without breaking a friendship (at least on my part). I’m glad I can be involved in politics because it really does make a difference in how I see the world and how I can impact the world.
April 20, 2021