March 19, 2020

Did you change your spring break plans because of the virus? From what to what?

My original spring break plans were to work on campus as an on-call RA, but that quickly changed as the coronavirus was officially labelled a pandemic. Instead, I went home to my family and hoped that I wasn’t an asymptomatic carrier.

How did you feel when you were informed the remainder of the semester would be held online?

I was heartbroken. There are no words to describe the pain I felt when I realized that I had unknowingly seen my professors, classmates, and some friends for the last time in the foreseeable future.

Where will you be living while courses are held online? Is this a change from usual?

I’m living with my parents for the time being. I was hoping that I could come back to campus after spring break, but after the school closed all on-campus dorms, I had no where to go.

How has the virus (and the precautions taken to prevent it spreading) impacted your daily life?

I don’t leave the house at all anymore. I was already kind of a shut-in and didn’t like socializing anyway, but living with my parents and brother again is creating a lot of tension. I keep trying to tell my dad not to leave since he’s the most vulnerable out of all of us (smoker and diabetic), but he doesn’t listen. We’re all scared and we don’t really know what to do.

How worried are you about getting the virus?

I am very worried about contracting the virus. I know that it most likely won’t be huge deal for me to get it, but if my dad gets it he will likely be hospitalized. If two of my very good friends with children get it, their whole family will be hospitalized and might die. If my ex boyfriend gets it, he’ll probably die. I’ve had contact with all of them before I went into a self-isolation. I have no reason to think that I have the virus, but if I do, I could have sentenced 5 people to death.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about what you’re feeling or experiencing right now?

I wish that we could have done better. Now is not the time to give up and stop trying, but it’s hard to keep myself from getting bitter and angry and all the missteps people have taken while trying to wrangle this pandemic. We have no idea how many people living in the US have the virus because of our lack of test kits and refusal to accept help except under extreme pressure. We don’t seem to have a full grasp on how this will affect life going forward if we don’t act. It seems like a lot of people don’t seem to care about the effects of their actions right now and I’m scared. I am absolutely petrified.