The sun was shining as bright as it had been for years, trees and flowers were beginning their pollination season again, and the birds and bugs that roamed near my home continued to scurry and fly as if nothing had changed. However, a lot changed for our society; COVID had found its way onto the U.S. and spread rapidly like a wildfire in dry grass. In wake of the virus, schools closed immediately and all students and teachers had to move to digital work. Unfortunately for my school, this sudden change in our environment was tough for a lot of students because we were used to being face to face, not face to screen. The days of sitting on a desk, writing down notes in front of a teacher had ended for that semester of school. In its place, we learned behind a screen as teachers worked quickly to convert all their planned lesson into digital lessons. In the case some students had no internet access, there were places students could go where free computer and internet access was allowed, but I never had to use them.
Going outside just to get groceries was like Russian roulette during these times because you were potentially gambling for your life with the virus being anywhere, but you aren’t able to see this invisible killer until it already has its hold on you. I didn’t understand a lot of the virus during its early stage but I understood one thing: it wasn’t something to play with. I was still young and the virus was only dangerous to the older population was, but that’s what I worried most about. Much of my family is fairly old with my grandfather being diabetic, which is what scared me most about the virus. If I caught it, I could potentially spread it to other family members. Luckily, the government began mandating masks and preventing parties that consisted of too many people. Some people may have hated this sudden change in environment, but to others like me, it meant the government realized that the virus needs to controlled before it claimed the lives of millions. The pandemic had started, and now the world was racing to combat it.