BRYAN'S COLUMN
Coronavirus-An Opportunity to Illuminate Ourselves and America
By: Bryan Torres/Created: Saturday, April 11th, 2020
Before this Coronavirus, life seemed very normal for me. Waking up in the morning every day and going to school to learn new things from my awesome teachers. My parents were working and earning their paychecks weekly as always. Politics seemed more tribal as always with candidates throwing punches at each other. The world, at least in my perspective, seemed so normal. However, I never realized that one day I would be trapped in my house with my parents, while the rest of the world suffers at the hands of this disease. By March 13th, the last day of the marking period, I knew for a fact that school would be closed due to this virus. By March 15th, Mayor Bill DeBlasio had canceled schools for the rest of March and most of April. At first, I was celebrating the closure of schools because I hated waking up so early in the morning every day. Also, that I would finally catch up on some sleep since I never had the chance to do it with my alarm always annoying me at 5:30 in the morning. Although, great positives of an event comes with great negatives and consequences. At first, the news of the closure made me feel bad because I would never get to see my teachers and not even my friends. The trip to Washington DC planned by my school which I anticipated a lot was thoroughly canceled. After realizing the positives and negatives of the school closure, I knew that life for me and others would never be the same.
How has COVID-19 impacted me?
The Coronavirus had both significant and insignificant impact on me and the members of my family. To start, doing school work online had a positive impact on me because I was so comfortable at my house and I can make my appropriate schedule. I also didn’t need to wake up so early in the morning, which allowed me to put my mind at ease. Although, this virus has brought negatives to me and my family as well. For starters, I don’t get to see my friends or my teachers that I adore so much which makes me feel sad and gloomy. I’m an only child meaning I don’t have any brothers or sisters to interact with. Staying in quarantine makes me feel more isolated from the outside world and more enclosed in myself and my feelings. I became more addicted to social media, mostly to text my friends, and became exposed to a different world of viciousness and ignorance. Other than my friends, I never really interacted with anyone I don’t know on social media because of my “no trust policy”. My parents, especially my mother, became more annoying with me when telling me to always wash my hands or wear my sandals since I walk bare feet in my house. However, the virus had a hard toll on my parents both emotionally and economically. Since many people had filed for unemployment, my home spent every day calling the jammed offices of the NY Department of Labor. We were trying to file for unemployment but we became so frustrated with the system that it nearly tortured us day by day. To add on, my aunt tested positive for Coronavirus and that made me and my mom feel bad because of our past relations with my aunt. Another relative of my mom died from Coronavirus which hit me hard also because of my past relations with that person. During quarantine, I had gained more weight than ever before and my eating disorder became even worse. I was anticipating going to the gym with my mom by March or April, but with the coronavirus, doing exercise would feel very different. With all the positives and negatives the coronavirus has inflicted on me and my family, I reflected on what this could teach not only me but the rest of America soon.
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What were the effects of the Coronavirus?
With the number of cases and deaths of the coronavirus soaring through the roofs in the United States, the economic and political effects from it were profoundly compelling. As soon as the pandemic hit the US, the stock market entered into its worst numbers since the Great Recession of 2008 and 6,000,000 people had filed for unemployment due to the closure of jobs. GDP growth throughout 2020 is expected to slow down, and sports organizations began to cancel their seasons. For example, the National Basketball Association or the NBA had announced on March 11 that it would suspend the rest of their seasons. Celebrities like Tom Hankins and news reporters like Chris Cuomo have tested positive for the virus. The Coronavirus has exposed the weakness of our health care system as millions of Americans aren’t able to afford the care they need to access it. School closures had led teachers and administrators to use platforms like Zoom and Google Classroom, to communicate with students more efficiently and productively. The Coronavirus also exposed racism and hatred against Asian-Americans, with people blaming Asians for the virus, since it originated in an Asian country.
What can this virus teach me and America?
The Coronavirus has rocked the world with fear, terrifying experiences of pain and suffering that has left us to wonder what are some takeaways from this virus. First of all, the coronavirus has exposed many of our country’s weaknesses that have been known for many years. The American HealthCare system faced catastrophe as high healthcare costs made it impossible for people to access the care they needed. The lack of hospital materials like hospital beds has also been in decline for the past two decades, which made the country inadequately unprepared in being able to handle the crisis with caution. The United States has also lagged on testing than other countries around the world which have put enormous pressure on the system. I hope this virus can teach America that having a Universal Health Care system and making sure that hospitals and disease prevention agencies like the CDC are fully funded. The coronavirus has also touched America’s economic weaknesses. With the number of people filing for unemployment skyrocketing through the roof, America needs to face the fact that her unemployment system is broken. Millions of Americans like my parents aren’t sure if they are getting their weekly benefits because of laggy online unemployment claim websites. I feel that this coronavirus has helped me cleanse all the anger and frustration I had on myself and others. Staying isolated from the world is a sad experience, but it's also an opportunity to think back on my mistakes and try to become a better person. I hope that America, just like me, learns the meaning and value of empathy. Having empathy over others helps us become stronger by supporting one another and working together to reach a common goal. I have hope that Americans can be kinder to each other and have empathy over others who are struggling emotionally and economically.
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