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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
My brother-in-law died of lung cancer on Nov. 15--only four weeks after the initial diagnosis. Due to P’s wishes, plus the omnipresent COVID-19, no services were held. Relatives gathered at his homestead in Georgia, and although the majority of the older crowd in attendance did their utmost to follow virus protocol, it is truly quite difficult to refrain from hugging and comforting devastated family members. For the most part, we sat outside in an effort to socially distance. Conversation turned, of course, to the cancer that took P’s life. Neither I nor my husband (P's brother) has ever smoked, but the sister, nephew, son and daughter-in-law of the deceased were all puffing away. “Aren’t you afraid of developing lung cancer?” I asked. “No, it’ll never happen to me,” P's sister replied. “I don’t even worry about it.” I was aghast. Does she think she possesses some type of all-powerful immunity? How stupid can you get? Then, COVID-19 entered the discussion.Some of this group profess that the virus is a hoax. Others believe it is real but are taking no preventative measures. “If I get it, I get it,” said one of the 30-somethings. “I don’t want someone else telling me how to live.” Again, how stupid can you get? Just use some common sense and wear the damn mask.
November 24, 2020
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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.
Today is the first day of the fall semester, and I am anxious about many things. We are in person for the first time in my program, and I feel like I'm completely starting over. This is the most difficult semester of coursework in my program, and I'm starting a new internship and my capstone project, but I also have to commute now and meet up with people in person for projects. Not to mention, covid cases are really high right now and the delta variant is spreading pretty quickly even among vaccinated people, so I'm not sure how safe I really am. We had a department meeting with our advisors today, and it doesn't seem like there is much flexibility for students who do not feel comfortable attending classes in person right now. The only way you will be excused from being in person is if you are actually sick or have been in contact with someone who tested positive. I don't see how we will be able to maintain this for an entire semester, and the thought of going online completely again is almost as bad as being 100% in person.
August 30, 2021