How My Life Has Been Changed by the Pandemic

     While most people have learned about Pandemics, not everyone has had the experience of living through one. The history books will cover the main things. How many people died, how did each country handle the pandemic, how did it affect society, and so on. However, there aren't many personal stories on living through a pandemic because before the internet it was much more difficult to get your story out there. So im going to share my personal experience on how Covid has changed my life in ways that might not be mentioned in the history books. 

    First I'll start off with the little things. Being contact traced at University is almost guaranteed. Especially since there are some people who are asymptomatic it can be impossible to tell sometimes. This changed virtually everything, from my job, to school, to grocery shopping. I am a personal trainer. So I get paid for the personal experience of working out with a fitness professional. As you can imagine, when quarantine mandates were enforced this was not good for me. I lost a lot of clients. But my gym did try to adjust. We created a virtual platform where our clients could watch us preform the workout we had created for them (typically workouts you can do from home, without equipment) so they could follow along with us. Since gyms have opened back up, we have expanded the program to do more things like sending homework to clients, sending workouts to them while they are on vacation so they don't have to miss a workout, and so much more! This program is now a daily part of my job and it is so useful for both me and my clients! Although the gym is open, it is not back to normal. I have to wear a mask and gloves while I train, as well as carry around a spray bottle to wash everything down. Not all equipment is open for use yet, like the resistance bands that are hard to clean or the sauna that might spread around droplets of sweat or respiration. I don't love all of the new adjustments, but it works. And for now, that is good enough. 

    School is completely different in that I haven't been to a single class all year. All of my classes are online and its much more difficult to pay attention. They are all recorded so attendance isn't mandatory and when I watch the lectures I can speed them up, fast forward, etc. In a way it is more convenient, and my grades are really good, but I can't help but feel that I'm not learning as much as I did in a traditional classroom setting. I am also in a sorority which basically doesn't exist at this point. We have weekly zoom meetings but there are no in-person philanthropy events, no formals, no sisterhood events, nothing. At this point I don't know why I keep paying to be involved. I also switched my major this year. I would like to get to know some of the students in my major, as well as some professors that I could use for future letters of recommendation. But this year meeting new people is virtually impossible. 

Another difference is the constant anxiety of seeing people during the pandemic. You can't be alone for months on end without contact. But how much is too much? I don't associate with some of my friends anymore because they go out and party and contribute to the spread of the virus. Its selfish. But what about the holidays coming up? What about birthdays and Christmas and family events? Should you risk going? You will be sad if you miss out, but harshly judged if you do. Some people are the opposite, and will actually judge you for taking the virus so seriously and missing out on events! Its insane! No one is on the same page and its overwhelming and constantly stressful! 

Some other things I miss are eating out, going to the movies, not having to wear a mask 24/7, and just the intimacy that was lost during the pandemic. Hopefully it will change for the better soon, but for now, this is what life is like. 

Vaccine Politics

     Even amidst a global pandemic, competition and using disasters for political gain still exist. The lead-runners for a Covid vaccine right now are China, the USA, and Russia. Whoever vaccine first shows the most efficacy and safety will be at an advantage. I would like to discuss the potential outcomes if China were to come up with the first Covid vaccine. China has been trying to expand their influence in Southeast Asia and Africa. China has already pledged vaccines to the Philippines, Indonesia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, South Asia and others to win them over. While some of these countries such as Indonesia say they are skeptical because of the leverage that China would weld over their country, they have little to no choice but to accept these offers. This is not only beneficial to Chinas diplomacy, but it would also help correct their image, since they handled the beginning of the pandemic so poorly. 

    The wielders of the first vaccine are so important because this country will be seen as those who restore the economy and global influence. Political leaders will also do almost anything at this point to have vaccines for their people, giving this country a lot of power. I think that if China creates the first vaccine, not only will they expand their influence over Southeast Asia and Africa, but tensions between the US and China might grow. President Trump has accused Chinese hackers of trying to steal vaccine-related information. This would mean that China is breaking the nonaggression pact, signed in 2015. Because the first vaccine means power, if China stole that from the US there would be even more tension toward china than there already is, and its high already. 

    Since this is mostly about political gain, whoever wins, there is the chance that the wealthier countries will buy up all the supplies, leaving only the leftovers to the rest of the world. The pandemic will not end until we have herd immunity, and for that to happen the majority of people need to be vaccinated. We need to start looking at this as all of us vs the virus, and not country vs country. Until then, this pandemic will linger on.