The New Normalcy

     Looking back over the last year, our country has had a rollercoaster of events. There has been so many unimaginable things to happen in our country like riots, deaths of celebrities that rocked peoples worlds,  the election of the decade, and of course the coronavirus. 2020 has been packed with so much drama that not even Steven Spielberg could direct a film about it. But, the most amazing part of it all is hoe resilient people have become. If someone would have told us what would be in store for this year, many people would have laughed in their faces. Now, people have gotten used to some of the issues and have found a new normalcy in their lives. 

    For the most part, people do not even think about wearing masks or social distancing. It has simply become second nature. People keep extra masks in their cars, purses, or on their keychain like me. Although most restaurants now have a lower capacity, people are still able to go out and do things that they are used to doing. Students have f finally adjusted to online classes and learning in new ways. Employees have returned to work for the most part. Businesses have reopened and it seems like life is going back to what it used to be. However, the number of Coronavirus cases have started climbing up the ladder again and not much can be done about it unless there is a vaccine or our country has to shut down again. The point is that the new normalcy is that there is no normalcy. Without a vaccine, our world is subject to change constantly and people have to be willing to change with the times until treatment is found for the virus. Gatherings of people must stay reduced, masks have to be continued to be worn, and people have to do their part in keeping others healthy as well as themselves. Although this year has been a complete whirlwind, the worse part is trying to picture what next year will be like; or even several years after. As a student, I have no idea how my classes will be administrated next semester. I do not know when the next time I will be able to safely travel away from Kentucky. There are too many variables that could change drastically and there is no way of knowing how it will next year will be. The only thing we do know is that we will have to be flexible, not dwell on the past, and embrace the good that has come of the unfortunate circumstances of this year. 

The Vaccine Race

     

    As it has always been very evident, many people do not agree on numerous political issues. This divide creates several problems between two or more countries, or even within a single country. Political issues have been the cause of several world and civil wars. There always have been these issues and there always will be because it is nearly impossible for every single person to agree upon every worldly issue. Normally, these issues do not affect civilians everyday, however, with a global pandemic, that is not the case. This pandemic has driven its way into every person's life, in every country in the world. Because this virus easily spreads like wildfire, the need for a vaccine is the highest it has ever been; and the race to find on is on.

    Powerful countries like Russia, China, and the United States have been making headway with creating a vaccine. The problem is that, due to past conflicts, these countries are likely to keep the vaccine to themselves if it finds to be promising. In the past and present the U.S. has had its fair share of conflicts with both of these countries. Currently, the U.S. is in a trade war with China and this has caused great tension between the two countries. Many people believe that whoever wins the "vaccine race" will keep the vaccine for themselves as a pride issue.  This country would have ultimate power and would basically be able to manipulate the other countries into doing whatever they pleased to receive the vaccine. I believe that the country who has the winning vaccine will hoard it for themselves and only distribute the vaccine to those who are able to pay for it. I do not think that the vaccine will be spread globally because, in reality, the country with the vaccine would not benefit from sharing the vaccine with the rest of the world. There has even been rumors of hackers trying to steal vaccine data for China. These excessive measures are just another way that countries are becoming  and are making this more of a political issue instead of a human issue. This race is undermining the thousands of lives that were lost by the virus. This is completely against moral codes and completely endangers the lives of so many more people. Without a global vaccine, thousands of people will continue to die and that is simply not okay. Although, morally, global distribution is the right thing to do, it will not happen with the current state of our world. 

Covid Vaccines and Global Cooperation

     Many people think of vaccines as a task of going to a drug store or doctors office to get a quick poke in the arm and then they are sent on their way. What most people don't know is all the tedious steps that have to be taken in order to get that vaccine to the drug store or doctors office. The vaccine must be created, multiplied, packaged, and shipped all over the world. 

    As mentioned above, the first step of the process is easily the most difficult of them all. Vaccines are not just made "at the drop of a hat." They take years and years of research, practice, and perfecting. According to "Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker" and the New York Times, there are five different ways a vaccine can be made: Repurposed Vaccines, Inactivated or Attenuated Coronavirus Vaccines, Protein-Based Vaccines, Viral Vector Vaccines, and Genetic Vaccines. Each of these vaccines are made to attack the virus in a specific way and are being used to create a vaccine for the coronavirus. Because the process for creating a vaccine is long and tedious, it can be very expensive. That is why it is so important and necessary for large name companies and millionaires to invest money into the research. Many wealthy families are investing in potential coronavirus vaccine. But investing is not always a genius idea. Many times investors lose more money than gain, due to the low likelihood that the vaccine will past all trails and be successful.

    However, there are some case where vaccines do make it out on the other side of trials and are ready to be mass produced and distributed to the majority of the world. But, this process is not as easy as it sounds. It involves many precautions and regulations to make sure that the vaccines are made correctly. Find a Vaccine. Next: Produce 300 Million Vials of It explains the thorough steps that must be taken to correctly make 300 million plus vials of the successful vaccine. It takes time to get enough vials, syringes, drugs, and other materials needed to create an order of vaccines this big. Because it is so costly to do so, there are only a few companies willing to do, making the length of time much longer. This requires a collaboration of the entire world to help each other get the most effective vaccine made and distributed to several countries. If many countries contribute to the process, the vaccine could be made quicker and would be better for humanity. 

    The last step in the coronavirus vaccine process is shipping it to thousands of places located all over the world. Much like numerous vaccines, the coronavirus vaccine must be kept at 80 degrees Celsius in order for the vaccine to work effectively when injected. This could cost millions of dollars itself. Ways of transportation like planes and trucks will need to be kept cold enough to hold the vaccine. According to How to ship a vaccine at 80 degrees  Celsius- and other obstacles in the Covid Fight, FedEx improved their way of shipping vaccines by introducing a thermal blanket to keep the vaccines cold enough while transporting. The also have machine that can produce dry ice. Although it may seems possible to follow all of these correctly, many vaccines have done it and we hope that a coronavirus vaccine will be next. But, this will only be possible with the cooperation of other countries. Countries around the globe have to be wiling to put differences aside and share the vaccine will every country. This idea is simply very naive and nearly impossible. Powerful countries will not put the past behind them, after several of their own people have died to get them to where they are. So, though, this idea is morally correct, it is not plausible and unlikely to happen. 

Family in Quarantine

     

As of yesterday, I received some scary and sad news. My cousins have Covid! Although many families have already gone through this process, my family is experiencing it for the first time since the pandemic started. These are the first people that my family has been contact that actually have covid and much is known for them right now.

    My cousin travels a lot for work and just got back home from a trip to Louisiana. After a few days, his co-worker started to feel sick and tested positive for the virus. This prompted my cousin to get tested as well and his results were also positive. He had previously been on close contact with my mom, brother, grandparents, and other cousins. My youngest cousin now has a fever and possibly has the virus as well. Although my mom and brother have not shown symptoms, the health department is making them quarantine in the house until November 2nd. 

    As mentioned in an earlier post, my dad recently suffered from brain cancer and has a very weak immune system. Thankfully, my dad has been out of town hunting in South Dakota for the past week and will not return home for a few more days. Because of his weakened immune system, he has to stay at my other grandparent's house until my mom and brother are released from quarantine. I know both of my parents are extremely upset by this but it is the best chance at keeping him safe. I was planning on surprising my family this weekend by coming home to celebrate the closing of our new house, but I guess it will have to wait a few weeks until everyone is healthy again. 

Reconnecting With Nature

 

            As I said in an earlier post, the pandemic has allowed me to get back in touch with my nature-loving side. Growing up, I lived on seven acres on land in a small town of Kentucky. I always constantly playing and running around outside with my siblings and cousins. I have so many memories of us building forts in the woods behind my grandma's house and staying outside until it got dark. My mom would have to beg us to come inside and eat dinner. It didn't matter the time of year, we were always outside. But as I got older and moved to a surburd of St. Louis, I lost my love for nature. I got busy with school and all of my clubs that the only time that I was really outside was for softball. I didn't spend time outside as much due to my busy schedule. 

        However, the coronavirus has helped me rediscover my love for nature. The past two or three weekends in Lexington have been so beautiful. The weather has been absolutely perfect, where the leaves are starting to fall and the summer heat is swept away with a subtle breeze. I have enjoyed going to Pine Knob Nature Reserve for hikes and pumpkin picking at Eckert's farm. Both of these were great ways to get outside and enjoy the fall weather with some friends. We wore our masks everywhere, except to snap a few pictures. We are all negative for the virus, so we were all safe around each other. Recently, I have even been studying outside by the library, instead of in my room. Being out in nature is my happy place and I am happy that I have rediscovered my love for the outdoors. 

Oh The Joys Of Online School!

 

        

         In the most recent years, online schooling has become more popular than ever. Young celebrities emphasized how easy it was to manage both school and their schedules when they were given the option to finish their classes online. Many students who were bullied a lot or just did not feel like they fit into a normal school setting were given another opportunity to complete their school work in a setting they felt more comfortable in. However, with the pandemic, thousands of students were forced to switch to online school without the choice. This switch has been very difficult for many and might even impact their futures.

        Online classes have made simple tasks like working in small groups or asking their teacher a question  much more difficult for many students. Now, students might have to schedule an appointment with their professor to ask a question outside of class hours. Working in groups is harder due to everyone being in different locations, making communication more difficult. Although many have adjusted to online classes well, there are still lots of students who are still struggling. I have noticed that my grades have slightly worsened just because of being online. With lectures being prerecorded or over zoom, I have found that it is much more difficult to grasp the concepts and information that the professors are throwing at us. This makes studying harder, and as a result I do poorly on quizzes and exams. I have found that this is the case for almost everyone that I have personally talked to.

        Because so many of us are suffering in online classes, it raises a question about how prepared we will be for graduate programs that we wish to pursue. Our GPAs may have dropped slightly or there is not any shadowing opportunities available to us as of right now and the current situation. Therefore, our applications for graduate programs and future jobs will suffer. I feel like these programs and employers should recognize these struggles and take them into account when deciding on whether or not to admit or hire the students. The struggles that came with the pandemic were not the students' fault and therefore should not be punished for them. 

UK Core Issue: How Do We Distribute Vaccines?

 

       

        The process of creating and implementing vaccines are quite long and extremely challenging. Many times if a vaccine is needed to combat a certain virus, it takes several years to be developed, tested, and given out in the community. However, the human population does not have this extensive time to waste for the publication of a vaccine for COVID-19, while thousands of people have been affected by and died from the virus all over the world. It has been recently reported that several countries, including the United States, have began the trial process for many COVID-19 vaccines. 

        In the case that one of these vaccines is promising, many. questions will arise about our country and populous cities. Who will receive the vaccine? How much will it cost? Is it trustworthy? These are all valid questions that many people of our country and even those in Lexington will think about when a vaccine is able to be administered to the public.

        If I was the one in charge of deciding the answers to these questions for the city of Lexington, KY, I would look at the city holistically and administrate them on a needs basis. This means that everyone who needs the vaccine will receive it first, as done in a command economy. The way I would classify who "needs" and receives the vaccine is based on their health. If a patient currently has COVID-19, and the vaccine will fight off the virus, then this patient would receive the vaccine first among the citizens of Lexington. Everyone who wants to receive the drug, will be tested first. Those who test positive, will receive the vaccine within 24 hours to ensure that their immune system does not fight off the virus first, Once all positive patients have received a vaccine, the next stage of people will be able to receive the drug. These people will be those who have compromised immune systems, due to an another health issue, such as cancer or asthma. These diseases greatly impact the immune system and make it much more difficult to fight off other viruses. Therefore, it is important that these people receive the drug rather quickly before they contract the virus. Next, people who have not yet had the virus and do not have the antibodies against it will recieve the vaccination. Lastly, if there is any vaccines left over after the prior groups, the vaccine would be available to those who had COVID-19 and the rest of the city's population. 

        Due to large invests from the United States government, the vaccine should cost people relatively nothing. At most, it will be around $25. This inexpensive price makes it available to anyone who needs it, even whose who do not have insurance. The vaccine would be a flat cost and would be the same to everyone. Although the process might have been rushed, the vaccine would be entirely safe, due to the immense testing and trials that it would have been put through. Therefore, the people of Lexington would not have to worry about fatal side effects from receiving the vaccine. 

Online Classes Around Campus

    The University of Kentucky opted for the majority of their classes be hosted online for the Fall 2020 semester. Because of this, I have basically been stuck in my room for the past month. Lately, I have been struggling with being in one place, as if the online classes weren't hard enough. Classes online make it a lot more difficult to actually retain the information that they are throwing at us. I am a very hands on learner and being online for classes has made that nearly impossible. Instead, I am forced to sit at a desk for almost seven hours a day and take notes based on un-interactive presentations. Due to these circumstances, I have had to get creative on ways to not get bored of doing the same thing everyday. I try to mix up where I take my classes throughout the day and try to get outside while the weather is still nice. The picture above is of me in the Jacob Science Building. I had just finished watching some classes and doing some work. I have really enjoyed finding new places on campus to study and even a few restaurants to try.  

Coronavirus in Pop Culture

       The current pandemic has not only been a spotlight for the medical field and the news, but has even made its way into pop culture. Effects of the virus can be found even in music and apps across the world. 

    Due to the quarantine rule that was implemented across the country, many artists found themselves stuck in the house and writing songs to pass the time away. Artists from all genres of music found themselves doing this and some even published a song about the virus itself. Luke Combs, a famous country singer, wrote a song called, "Six Feet Apart." The title is a play on words for the rule of social distancing that arose during the pandemic. In this song, Luke Combs talks about some of the sacrifices that everyone has given up during quarantine, such as seeing family, social gatherings and eating at restaurants. He also gives listeners hope by saying there is "light after dark," and this is only temporary and soon everyone will be able to return to back to their normal lives. This song is just one of many songs that artists producing during this trying time. 

    

    Another way that Covid-19 has impacted pop culture is through the widely popular app, TikTok. TikTok is an app where people can post comedic videos of themselves and friends. When coronavirus started to spread, people had many ways of making light of the situation by posting their hand sanitizer collections, showing off their fashionable masks, and even making viral tiktok dances. These videos allowed people to show how they felt about the virus and how they were dealing with it in their own way. 

Not to mention the fact that the app took off, while everyone was in quarantine. The majority of people were forced to stay home from school or work, which gave them more free time and TikTok was a way to take people's minds off of everything that was going on and give them some entertainment. Although I only listed two examples, pop culture was greatly influenced by the coronavirus all over the world. 

Chinese: The "Jews" of the Coronavirus

       Anytime there is a major event occurring in the world, there is always a single group of people that are blamed. For example, in the Holocaust the jews were blamed for the events happening in Germany, when in reality we know it was not truly their fault but the result of brainwashing. The same thing is happening in the world right now with Covid-19. From the beginning of the pandemic, China has been the scapegoat as the source of the coronavirus. But is this the result of our government brainwashing us to believe a single country is to blame for the world wide epidemic or is China really to blame?

    As it has been said, the coronavirus originated in a wet market in Wuhan, China. According to multiple sources, the virus began when virus carrying bats were sold at the market and the virus made its jump into the bodies of humans. The virus spread very rapidly, affecting everyone in its path. Travelers from China were said to have spread the virus to several countries, including the United States. From there, the virus obstructed the lives of millions and became a global pandemic. But what if the coronavirus was already in the US before it hit Wuhan, China?

    Several people that I have talked to, including my sister, have said that last November they had the exact same symptoms as the coronavirus and tested negative to the flu and strep throat. These negative results show that they did not have the virus that are more common and might have had coronavirus but did not know it because there was not a test for it at the time. These people were sick long before the outbreak in China that made headlines in late March of 2020. Another finding that is suspicious is the number of cases in China compared to that in the United States. It has been reported that China has had a total of 85,255 total cases and 4,634 total deaths. Whereas the US has had over 6.7 million cases and 198,259 total deaths. This is a huge difference in cases and does not make much sense. China has more people in their country than the US, and the majority of the Chinese live in a much closer proximity to each other than Americans. Based on this, wouldn't China be more likely to have more cases than the US? This raises several suspicions about how China was able to control the virus better than another country if they were the ones that caused the pandemic. As Americans, have we been brainwashed to believe that China is to blame and we are the real case of the global pandemic?

    

Scrounging at the Grocery Store

    Coming from a southern family, food is a big deal in our household. My Dad is a self-proclaimed "food enthusiast," and is always thinking about the next meal, as is most of my family. Every Sunday, my Mom likes to plan out the meals for the next week and is always making new recipes and trying new things. All these things, as well as having a fifteen year old brother who is constantly eating, are reasons that our pantry and fridge is always stocked full. However, the pandemic made us consider a new kind of normal, where we got used to opening the cabinets and finding half empty. 

    When Covid-19 was just starting to make its way across the country, shutting down everything in its path, my parents ran the our local grocery store to stock up on lots of food and drinks. Because the amount of time that the stores would be closed was not announced yet, they grabbed everything they thought we would need for the next few months. They had loaded up our biggest car and headed home. Once they got home was when the "fun" of putting everything away began and my brother hid in another room. While putting the food up, we quickly realized that we did not have enough room in the cabinet and pantry for everything that they had bought and thought that we would be eating on everything for a long time to come. Little did we know that what we thought was "too much" would only last two months before it was all gone. 

    As the piles of nonperishable food became smaller and smaller, my Mom tried to go to the grocery store and pick up a few things, but the selves were almost completely empty. This made it hard to my Mom to meal prep and make simple recipes like spaghetti because the ground beef was more expensive than ever. The fruits and vegetables were sold out and I won't even mention the toilet paper situation. The only things my Mom could find was unhealthy foods, like cereals and chips, so that is what we ate. Obviously, because of this our diet became much worse but with more free time, my sister and I tried to workout as much as possible to counteract all the bad things we were putting in our body. Once people started to calm down, including my parents, the grocery stores filled back up and everything got back to normal for our diets and meals. 

                        

How Does News Influence Coronavirus?

    Especially in these times, it is extremely important to know where you are getting your information. Many times people will turn on the news channel early in the morning before going to work. While it might be playing in the background, the news that someone hears can still influence their way of thinking. Many news channels, like CNN and Fox, have a way to insert political stances into anything they say.

    CNN has been known to be severely bias to the Democrat party. Lately with the current pandemic, CNN has been keeping a close eye on President Trump to see how he is handling the pandemic. Recently, Trump held a rally, in which few people were practicing social distancing and wearing masks. The CNN grilled him for this obviously and focused on this headline because it shows that he is not taking the pandemic seriously and only wants to gain supporters. 

    The information that CNN has put out about coronavirus has been completely bias and saying that everyone who contracts the virus is at fault for it spreading, but have mentioned little to none on how to combat the disease. CNN also had Dr. Fauci talk about how a quarantine dorm at college universities is the key to success. Many people took that he was another "money-seeking republican" who cared more about reopening universities for financial stability instead of the health of the students.

    On the other side of the spectrum, Fox News is usually seen as a "Republican news station." On the same topic about Trump's recent rally, a Fox News reporter focused on what Trump said about children being unsusceptible to the virus. The reporter focuses on how this was a slight lie but mentions nothing about how people were wearing masks and following guidelines.

    As stated prior, people should be more careful about which new channel they chose to watch. This is why I have neglected to watch any mainstream news channel for information about Covid-19.  Instead, I went straight to the CDC because they are the ones that actually understand the most about the virus and are setting the guidelines. Even on the CDC website, you must be careful about facing biases, so it is best to read articles that strictly give accurate information, such as https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/quarantine.html. 

    Many of the news channels politicalized the pandemic and inflated the numbers of deaths. These channels knew that an enticing headline would get them more viewers, even if the headline was false and inflated. My parents and grandparents would watch these new channels and based everything they about the virus off of what the news was telling them. This would confuse me because it would contradict what I had read about on CDC. 

Covid in the Dorms

 

        I am a peer mentor in the Interprofessional Healthcare Residential College Living Learning Program on campus at UK. There is a total of fourteen of us this year and we have all became very close. One of the worst parts about last semester to me was that I was completely separated from all of my friends because we all lived in different states. I believe all of the other peer mentors can agree that being away from friends and campus made academics that much harder. Especially with the pandemic, we were all willing to take the risk of getting the coronavirus just to be back on campus.

    But recently, a few of us are figuring out that that might not have been the best decision. We are only two weeks into the school year and one of the peer mentors has already tested positive. When the university initially tested us upon arrival, we all tested negative for the virus. But more recently, all students in greek life had to be re-tested. This is when a peer mentor found out that he had the coronavirus and had to be quarantined. They were put in the Ingles Residence Hall which is one of the older dorms on campus and far less nice as the one we all live in. They are not allowed to leave their room and only receive their meals from campus dining services. They are completely isolated from campus and the outside world, which is extremely scary for me. Because they tested positive, their roommate also had to quarantine. Because we are all so closed and have been around each other a lot, some of us are worried that we too might have the virus. So far, none of us have shown symptoms, but only time will tell. 

The University of Kentucky In The Time Of Covid

 

        As mentioned earlier, I am a sophomore at the University of Kentucky. As soon as students arrived on campus, UK required that all students must be tested for COVID-19. If any student tested positive, they went either sent home or quarantined in a specific dorm. Classes resumed on the 17th of August, but they look a little different this semester. Based on the course, a student could have their classes online, in-person, or hybrid. A "hybrid" class just means that half of the meetings will be in a standard classroom, while the other half will meet online. The university decided to offer classes this way to make social distancing possible in some of the larger classes. The classes that are meeting in-person require the students to wear a mask the whole time and practice social distancing baby spacing out the students six feet apart. Also, the dinning halls on campus have reduced seating to prohibit groups of people from gathering. These few examples show that the university is doing everything they can to combat the current pandemic and keep the campus as open as possible. However, the number of positive cases have been on the rise on campus.

    Since coming to campus, students in greek life have tested three times as high as the rest of the student body living on campus. Because of these high numbers, UK has decided to retest all students in greek life. Many students involved in greek life live in their specific houses with hundreds of others students. These close communal spaces make it hard for the students to physically distance themselves more than students living in a dorm. Personally, the majority of people that I know who have tested positive have been involved in greek life, so I think what the university is making the right move by retesting these students. However, I also think that retesting all of the students within the next month would be smart just to be sure that numbers have not risen. 

    I believe that the steps that the University of Kentucky have taken so far are completely necessary and will allow the campus to stay open for the remainder of the semester. From walking around on campus, I can tell that the majority of students are wearing masks and trying to socially distance as much as possible.  So even though the numbers of positive cases may be growing, I think that classes will continue to be available in-person due to the protective measures that have been put in place. 

Back Together Again

     Although my parents, siblings, and I were all quarantined under the same roof, the pandemic affected each one of us in a different way. First, I'll start with my dad. Almost four years ago, my dad was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. Because of this, he had to undergo several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments; both of which compromised his immune system. Even though this happened a few years ago, his immune system still faces reprocussions every now and then.  For instance, something so common as the flu could be potentially fatal for him. Due to his inability to fight off infections, my dad has had to be extremely cautious about living in a world with a virus so dangerous as COVID. He had to wear extra thick masks and use hand sanitizer after touching almost anything. During this time, my dad was forced to run his business from home, which was extremely challenging. This and being stuck in his room due to his high risks definitely took a tole on his mental health. Since quarantine has ended, he has been able to return to work and get back to some normalcy despite the immense fear of the coronavirus.

    We just recently moved back to Kentucky a few months before COVID struck our country and my mom was in the process of looking for a new job. My mom is a special education middle school teacher and loves her students more than anything. Sometimes, my siblings and I would joke that she loved them more than us, but she always corrected us.  Since the virus shut down most schools in our area, this made it even more difficult for my mom's job search. Many school districts were so caught up with the pandemic, they did not even bother thinking about the next school year because they did not know if classes would resume online or in-person. Therefore, my mom was not able to find a new job with more loving students for the 2020 school year. 

    Being nursing school, college, and high school students, my sibling and I were forced to switch to online classes for most 2020. My sister and I had to move back home from our apartment and dorm and quarantine with the rest of our family. My brother was already struggling with all the classes and transitioning that comes with being a freshman in high school, and when COVID made his classes online he struggled even more. All three of us had to quickly adjust to learning online, which was very hard for all of us. It was also hard not being able to see our friends everyday in the hallway or classroom, due to the pandemic. Even though the five of us were united again in the same house, the coronavirus still manage to affect us all differently. We were all able to support one another through their different struggles and were brought closer together in the end. 

About Me

 

    Hey y'all! This is my blog where I will be sharing my personal experiences with the current pandemic, COVID-19. But first, I will tell you a little more about me. My name is Abby McKinney and I am nineteen years old. I grew up in Eddyville, Kentucky for the majority of my life, but have also lived in Illinois and Louisiana for a period of time. I am a Sophomore and Pre-Medical Laboratory Sciences major at the University of Kentucky with hopes of attending pharmacy school in the next couple of years. 

    Wanting to be a pharmacist in the future, the COVID-19 pandemic has been very intriguing to me. Since this is the first major outbreak that I have experienced in my lifetime, it is sometimes hard for me to completely comprehend and understand how much our world is changing and evolving right now. It is scary and worrisome time for everyone in our world right now because no one knows what to expect. However, for me, quarantine brought some good into my life. For example, the picture above was taken in a flower field in then middle of nowhere. Because of the quarantine, I was able to go outside and enjoy nature more often. I was also able to spend more time with my family, which has brought us all closer and made the time go by a little faster. Sadly, my great aunt and cousin contracted the virus, but luckily enough they were able to recover. This was hard on my family and I because we felt so helpless and just wanted to be with with them but were not able to without risking our own health. 

Even though a lot is uncertain right now, I hope that those reading this blog are able to learn something from and connect through my personal experiences with COVID-19.