Raymond Trinh - Week 1

Throughout these weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, many lessons have emerged. The first lesson I learned is that humans are super-social creatures. We have a deep innate need to be around other people and share experiences, and indeed our lives. Majority of people who are connected are happier and healthier in the long run. Social distancing is a new way of life that many of us are not familiar with. We’re doing it, because health authorities argue, can dramatically slow the rate at which the infection spreads, helping to ease the burden on the healthcare system. Best practices require maintaining at least a six-foot distance between yourself and others. However, many of us are wondering will this be our new normality when the pandemic is over. Therefore, many of us have come to accept that life won’t be the same after this novel pandemic. As “stay-at-home” orders extend, it’s become clearer to see that our normalcy has changed, some irreversibly, and for better and for worse. Lastly, this pandemic has forced all college campuses to abruptly cancel the spring quarter. For these unfortunate turns of circumstances to occur during my last quarter of my academic career, I was disappointed and bitter for a couple of days. However, as this pandemic continues to spread across the country, I’ve learned to accept the outcome and come to realize that I am not the only one. I am among the millions of students in this country not able to walk across the stage on graduation and celebrate my achievements with the people I love. 

How are we going to continue as a society when the pandemic is over?