From the day that we all heard about the Coronavirus epidemic, we all knew it was going to have a disastrous effect on our country. We kept hearing things and seeing articles on every social media platform to eventually have it be the topic of every conversation. While being 18 or 19 year olds in college, we have yet to experience a situation like this in our time. We have read and learned about the countless depressions, crashes and wars of the past but never have thought of a time where we could be in that position. This, in my opinion, is the reason why many people are having such a hard time adjusting to the new standards.

The virus has now become a pandemic. It is affecting students and workers all over the world who have been forced to stay home. “Much of life in America, and across the globe, has ground to a near halt in recent days as the coronavirus spreads, closing schools, thwarting travel, forcing employees to telework and shuttering beloved institutions” (“Coronavirus Is Shutting down American Life as States Try to Battle Outbreak”, 2020). Going out to simply get groceries is now this whole ordeal of having to wear masks and gloves and stay six feet apart from each other. Going out to just pick up food or go for a walk has now become a danger. The New York Times stated “A limited study by Chinese researchers suggests the role played by air currents in spreading the illness in enclosed spaces” (Health, 2020). I feel like this has been a wake-up-call for our country in more ways than just one. Nothing is impossible and anything can happen at any time. 

The pandemic has made me realize how fortunate of a country we are. We take advantage of our everyday luxuries that we as a country get to have. Tons of businesses have closed forbidding access to them. “More than 90 major US retailers are temporarily closing stores in an unprecedented move to prevent the spread of the coronavirus” (Business Insider, 2020). I feel that moving forward, we also need to take illness and diseases of other countries more seriously. I admit that when first hearing about the virus, I did not take it as seriously as I should have due to the fact that it was mainly in different countries like Italy and China. I did not believe it would spread nearly as much or as quickly as it did. “Covid-19 has infected nearly 2.5 million people and killed at least 171,000 worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 42,000 people have died in the US” (“Coronavirus Pandemic: Updates from around the World”, 2020). 

In the future, we should be more cautious when traveling to other countries. We should pay more attention to illnesses and diseases of that country as well. We should not just rely on our government to educate us about what is going on in the world and take it upon ourselves to stay informed and do the proper research. This will help to eliminate any further situations like this from happening again. 

Works Cited

Chang, Kenneth. “Health.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Apr. 2020,    www.nytimes.com/section/health.

Renton, Adam. “Coronavirus Pandemic: Updates from around the World.” CNN, Cable News Network, 21 Apr. 2020, www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-04-21-20-intl/index.html.

Biron, Bethany. “More than 90 Major US Retailers Are Temporarily Closing Stores in an Unprecedented Move to Prevent the Spread of the Coronavirus.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 23 Mar. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/13-retailers-announce-temporarily-store-closures-to-fight-coronavirus-2020-3.Katie Zezima, Joel Achenbach. “Coronavirus Is Shutting down American Life as States Try to Battle Outbreak.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 14 Mar. 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-outbreak-shutdown-america/2020/03/13/d8589434-6550-11ea-acca-80c22bbee96f_story.html.