My spring break plans had to be changed, not by law but through me and my mother’s decision. We were planning on flying to St. Louis, Missouri to visit my cousin and his wife between March 16th to March 19th. I also decided not to go hiking to Enchanted Rock on Saturday, March 21st, but mostly because the forecast showed it was raining, even though the park website said it was still open to visitors even during the coronavirus outbreak. When I was informed that the rest of the semester would be held online, I felt a mix of emotions including anger, sadness and concern. I am not a traditional student; I took a few years off from school because I did not know what I wanted to do. I did know that I usually despised the job I currently had working 41-45 hours a week at a local pet supplies store. It was not a bad job, but I felt directionless and the job was socially and sometimes physically draining. So I decided at the beginning of 2019, mostly from encouragement fueled from my new boyfriend, that I would transfer to St. Edward’s University in the fall. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but the environmental science degree looked really appealing. By being back in school, I suddenly had a purpose again.

So I was angry and upset because I like being back in school and physically going to class: it motivated me to have a better life with a better paying job and a career, and going to school to learn was part of that invigorating experience. I’m also concerned for one of my professors. He is currently 68 years old and a really sweet man, and I know he has had shingles before, and his wife has had a critical illness in the past, so I’m worried for them. He also doesn’t go online very often except to post the syllabus and presentations from the beginning of the semester.

My living situation had not changed as I commute to campus to go to school from home. I’ve never taken an online class before, mostly because the concept scares me. I fear that I would not be as productive or study as hard if I was taking an online course. One of my four classes is an internship, which students need to have 140 hours working there to get credit for the course this semester, but I was informed that we may just work from our computers from home. At the time of writing this, it is still Spring Break and I don’t really know what to expect to do online, but I don’t think the professors really have a good grasp either, at least not yet. I do not blame anyone for this though as it is understandable that a pandemic stimulates widespread fear and confusion, and it throws everyone’s routine off. If nothing else, this next year will be an opportunity for everyone to learn how to be flexible with the current conditions and we need to learn how to adapt so we can try to keep ourselves and everyone else as healthy as possible.

At first when the coronavirus was being reported, I was not too concerned about getting it, but now my fears are slowly increasing. Not from what it will do to me, but the fact that I could spread the disease to others who are more susceptible to becoming violently ill. From my little understanding, a young and relatively healthy person like myself is not susceptible to experiencing severe symptoms if I contract the illness. But the ones who are older, have compromised immune systems, or both are more at risk of having severe symptoms or dying. It also makes me grateful for the fact that none of my grandparents are alive anymore for this reason only: I would not want to worry about them getting ill. My last grandparent died two years ago at a senior living community (not a nursing home), and though I miss him dearly, I’m glad that he does not have to be around to see this and that I do not have to be restricted from not visiting him.

I am an introvert by nature, so I don’t really go out of the house very often to socialize at bars or restaurants unless I visit my boyfriend and we go out to eat, and though I try to visit my friends, I don’t normally hang out with them very often. But I found myself wiping down surfaces more often like doorknobs, sinks, countertops, and my iPhone 7 (this is “older” technology at the time of writing this, but I can imagine the chuckles now from anyone reading this in the future. They might be guffawing to themselves, thinking, “wow, that’s REALLY old technology!”). I am usually adamant about washing my hands for 20 seconds with soap and warm water, so that has not changed either.

I think the CDC or some official government report considered my job an “essential business” as we sell primarily pet food, so I still work part time and in fact increased my hours during spring break so I could have some extra money. Three of my newer co-workers were out sick, so I’m glad I could help them fill in the roles. As of now at work, if someone has a fever, a symptom of the coronavirus, I think I remember them saying to stay home for 72 hours. Which in a way doesn’t make sense because I thought that the virus can remain in the body for up to a week before someone is ill. But then again, I am not an expert. It’s also important to keep in mind that because this is a novel virus that is a pandemic, we get new details everyday on what to do to remain safe and what we should do regarding work. So this “72 hour rule” may have changed since I last read it a week ago. I know one of my newer co-workers had a fever, but she did get tested and she didn’t have the coronavirus strain, and she was able to come back to work three days after she had a fever. Store management has encouraged people to shop online as we provide curbside pickup, same day and next day deliveries, and we told them that for now that we waved fees for delivery. But now that we have another week of “spring break” while we figure out what to do with online classes, I’ve decided that I would wait for my manager to ask for help rather than offer to work. I want to decrease my chances of contracting an illness and getting others sick while at work.

While indoors at home, I started drawing more and playing a new game I bought a couple weeks ago, plus I get to spend more time with my mom as we currently live together. I rarely cook, but I have even had the desire to bake. I am playing with the idea to bake chocolate chip cookies. I am a creative person, so I want to also use this time to do something artistic. As far as outdoors, I still go to Zilker Park as I feel the need to work out and I have two dogs who also need exercise. I do get a little nervous when I walk by others on narrow trails, but I try not to let it get to me too much. I also see this as an opportunity to conserve my resources, save money, eat healthier, and reduce carbon emissions. With paper towels and tissues flying out of the grocery stores, I think it is important to save the little paper towels I do have available and use an alternative like a dish towel, which I then have to be diligent in cleaning those towels so they do not act as a potential surface to spread the coronavirus if me or my mother has come into contact with someone infected. Many times I have gone out to Thundercloud or Amy’s Ice Cream for a snack and I always get the same items from both places, and they are not the healthiest, so this will be a great option to save money when I want to have lunch or dessert. I won’t be driving to school or to my internship, which reduces me time on the road four days out of the week, so already I am saving money on gas and I’m not using my car as much for the time being.

I am concerned about money as well, even though I have stocked up on buying pet food for my four pets as I get great discounts working at the store. And my internship is unpaid as well, but like I mentioned before, this is a great opportunity to save money and be mindful of what I do buy.  I’m also worried about my mother, who is a nurse working part-time and has a small mobile business, so this will also impact how much she makes. I want to end on a positive note: thankfully I do not know anyone as of now that has a confirmed case of COVID-19, and this may be a challenging time for everyone, but we can only control ourselves and no one else. I think that during the coronavirus outbreak, we need to be kind and compassionate, use our resources wisely, and follow health updates from reputable sources so we know how to keep ourselves and others safe.