Marika Candelaria - Week 1

When the coronavirus first started, many of us did not realize how serious the situation would be after cancelling schools and events. Of course, being a young college student, in the beginning I was not aware of how serious I should take this pandemic. I was ungrateful and stubborn for having to go back home and not being able to hang out with friends as usual. I also did not know this would be a long time until I am able to see my friends at UC Davis. I miss walking around campus, being at the dorms, and going to different events as a first year Aggie. However, staying at home is better than risking other people’s lives. 

Personally, staying home has not been a challenging thing to do. It becomes boring at times, but at the end of the day I am very grateful to gain access to safety, food, and shelter during this time. Even though being at home is not as fun as going to the events I was planning to go to, I have been able to help my parents around the house and even take care of myself more. Staying at home when my parents are at work has actually been therapeutic in some way. However, whenever I see the news and social media it becomes overwhelming to see how quickly the virus is spreading and the people who are in danger. Racism, economics, death, and more has taken a huge toll ever since this started. With this course, I am hoping to learn new strategies and ways we could contribute to help heal during this difficult process.  

People who are still working, such as my parents, have been putting their lives at risk every day. This also makes me aware of how our community is treating this situation and how our economy is a huge factor in between. Throughout this time, I have been keeping up with politics more and investing time to learn about the strategies people are contributing towards this situation. Coronavirus also makes me concerned about people who do not have access to shelter yet and makes me wonder about what the government is doing about it. Overall, it is challenging for everyone’s mental and physical health but I am hoping the isolation will be effective and that people will take time to educate themselves about it and help flatten the curve.