March 19, 2020

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

Not exactly. The plan was to go back home to Houston to begin with. I did plan on going out to my favorite coffee shops, museums, bars, and restaurants when I returned, however. Now I can’t quite do that.

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

At first I laughed because of COURSE this would happen to me. My class had already gone through Hurricane Harvey, the Pavilions flood, and now this? Why did we expect anything else? After the humor of it all wore off, my boyfriend drove me around as I sobbed and sent out messages to close professors to thank them for all they had done for me these past 4 years. Once it hit, I didn’t care that graduation was cancelled as well. Coming to the realization that I wouldn’t get to see the professors who had encouraged me to be my best in the 47 remaining days of the semester after spring break made me feel like I was crumpling into a million pieces. I called my mentor and former physiology professor, Dr. Sunny Scobell, to cry and thank her because it felt like I would never see her again. The only thing that made me feel like my world was no longer falling apart was her telling me that she’d see me again and that she wasn’t done with me yet.

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

I will most likely be going back and forth from my apartment in Austin and my family home in Houston. Since I plan on moving back soon after graduation anyway, this will allow me to move back gradually and spend more time with loved one backs home.

What has been your experience with moving classes online? What’s good? What’s not so good?

I’ve taken one online class and it did not go super smoothly for me. Then again, it was Calculus 1 and I’m VERY bad at math.

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

Essentially everything has changed. When it was first being reported, I was skeptical about it’s possible impact. From everything I had read, it seemed like it was just a bad case of the flu. It wasn’t until I started reading about the impact it had on Italy that I got nervous. As someone who wants to be a microbiologist and is already sort of weird about germs, it hasn’t made a super huge impact in how I live my life in terms of trying to live a more “sterile” life. The hardest thing to cope with is social distancing. It sucks!

How worried are you about getting the virus?

I know it’ll get it inevitably. This is something I’ve known since day 1 simply due to it’s projected spread. Am I afraid of dying from it? Thankfully no because I’m apart of the demographic with the lowest risk. I really don’t want to deal with being sick though! I don’t have the time!

Do you know anyone who has gotten COVID-19?

Not yet thankfully! I need everyone in my life to stay healthy!

Are you staying in? What are you doing to pass the time?

Yes aside from the occasional nature walk. I’ve been applying for a lot of jobs during this time, interacting with other scientists on twitter, laughing at memes, and lurking on pubmed for papers about COVID-19.

Are you going out? Where do you go and what is it like?

Only to drive from my boyfriend’s family home to my family home. US-59 and 6-10 are uncharacteristically devoid of traffic and it’s INCREDIBLY unsettling. I’ve included a photo of a map of Houston at 5 PM. There are so few red lines indicating heavy traffic it’s insane.

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

This whole ordeal has made me very very reflective as of late. All I can really say is that it’s made me realize how incredibly fabricated and fake the society with live in is in terms of laws and money. It’s very baffling!