Hello my fellow ImmuniTEA spillers! This week’s blog is going to be a tad different from my normal opinionated reporting on microbiology-centered current events, as I will be giving my perspective on how COVID-19 is impacting my personal life. As a student at a public university, I have not only been forced off of campus, but I have also loss my job as a Resident Advisor. Even though I had to move back home and figure out how to pay for personal expenses and my car payment due to the loss of my primary source of income, I am lucky enough to have a home to return to that is unaffected by COVID-19. Others in this world and even at UNC are not fortunate enough to return to a safe, stable, or welcoming home environment. I am grateful to attend a university, where students with these particular difficulties are able to stay on campus and are provided with extra resources to avoid being stranded in unsafe situations.
A crisis such as this current pandemic has the ability of always putting things that we may take granted, into perspective. For example, some of my senior friends will now not be able to experience things such as their Sorority Formal, Bar Golf, or even graduation on Mother’s Day. I may not be experiencing the same loss as these students; however, I do empathize for their loss of these traditions that they may never be able to experience. Thankfully, I am still in contact with all of my friends from college even though we are separated by miles and time zones. As I have talked to many of my friends, our individual adjustments have all varied as some were excited to be back home, while others dreaded reliving their living situations that they experienced in High School.
Personally, I was excited to return home to see all of my pets and even my family… and then I shortly realized why I loved college so much. I loved working around my own schedule, having the privacy of a room that my parents had no control over, and be able to engage in discussions that weren’t one sided. Not that my parents are strict whatsoever, they do have a tendency to spark political discussions that I rather not engage in. Having different political views sometimes may drive a wedge within a family, which doesn’t affect how I love my family, but may alter when I show that affection. Having a separate living space out of my parents’ house allowed me to experience my own opinions and thoughts, without defending them within my own living space. The repercussions caused by COVID-19 have been a humbling experience so far, as I’ve been able to understand what I have taken for granted on many levels.
ImmuniTEA Spill 