Enlight21

Author: Ryan Yang | Category: Lifestyle | Date: 03-30-2020

Over recent weeks, the world has experienced a drastic change in lifestyle as governments have ordered citizens to self-quarantine in order to minimize the spreading of the coronavirus. The virus was first discovered in Wuhan, China, and it began to spread globally in the months of January and February. As the number of cases continue to increase daily, a cure or vaccine has yet to be discovered. Schools and businesses have closed down, forcing students and workers to remain at their homes. This new way of life has also affected me personally in many ways as well. 

When the virus was first discovered back in November, nothing had been different, and my family, my friends, and I continued to live our lives in the same old manner. However, the virus began to spread rapidly in China, and soon, it began to reach many parts of the world. When the first few cases were discovered in Santa Clara County, schools in the area including my own were beginning to take action, recommending students to wash their hands more frequently and avoid as much physical contact as possible. It did not seem as if our lives were going to be greatly affected at that time by this mysterious virus. In addition, we were all told that the symptoms were similar to those of a cold or a flu, so we were not heavily concerned. However, two weeks into March, the situation seemed much more severe. Santa Clara County saw an increase in the number of people affected, while other counties around the area like San Mateo County, where I live, began to see infected individuals. We were told by teachers that the school may need to temporarily shut down for the sake of protecting students, and as a matter of fact, two days after we were told this, the school did indeed shut down. We had been told that we would be off for three weeks, and honestly, I was so surprised because everything was happening so quickly. It had only been a few weeks when we were not concerned with this virus, but now we were the ones who were at most risk. Now, it has been more than two weeks since the shutdown.

These past two weeks have honestly been the most unusual weeks in my life. Firstly, we began online school. It has been pretty easy so far, but for sure, much different. At first, the format of online classes was confusing as teachers did not give us thorough instructions regarding our work during these next few weeks. Luckily, each of my teachers have sent emails and posted lectures on Canvas and Google Drive, so I was able to complete all the assigned work over the past two weeks. Interestingly, school has been a lot less stressful, as I have been able to use the great amount of time I have wisely and get a lot more sleep than I would on a typical school day. Next, my social life has been completely different over these past two weeks. I would normally spend time with my school friends on the weekdays and my church friends on the weekends. However, as we are all stuck at home, I am unable to do any of this. I still call and find a way to interact with them through social media, but I definitely spend less time with them. It for sure can be very boring. Lastly, I am able to set aside time to go out and exercise with my family. Normally, I would not have the time to freely go out and walk or take a jog around my neighborhood, but with the absence of school, I now have much leisure to do these activities. It is really nice to just simply enjoy some fresh air and spend time with my family. 

As of now, it seems that this issue will not be solved any time soon. The number of infected patients is only increasing with more countries beginning to encounter the dangerous virus. Thus, as we wait for the situation it is essential that we make the most of this time to spend time with family and engage in activities that would be difficult to engage in during a typical school day. 

About: Ryan Yang