About Me

 My name is Taylor Rankin, and I am currently a junior at the University of Kentucky. I am taking all online classes because of the Pandemic, this is month 8 of the global pandemic, COVID. I am from Danville Kentucky, a small town south of Lexington. Because my town is so small it took longer for our hospitals to receive testing kits because the larger cities surrounding us were deemed a higher priority. My dad works for the hospital so when I was living at home we had to be extra careful, especially when we didn't have access to testing kits so we had no idea who could be infected. My dad is also immunocompromised, meaning he was at a higher risk of dying if he got the virus. My mom was very stressed and made sure that we didn't leave the house, sanitized everything coming through our door, took our shoes off before entering the house, and made sure my dad took his clothes off in our laundry room if he had been in the hospital that day. The most difficult part of this virus is half of the people who are infected are asymptomatic. For example, my brothers girlfriend felt fine and was one of the only people who was allowed around our family. She also took protective measures and quarantined herself. About a month ago she took an antibody test and discovered that at one point, she had had COVID. It is very scary how quickly and how silently it can spread. It can be very hard to track and as we know- hard to recover from if you are one of the people severely affected. The scariest thing about this pandemic so far is all of the uncertainty, no one seems to know whats going on, even the smartest of scientists who I feel like should know everything. Another interesting thing about this pandemic is that it has somehow it has become politicized. Some people are convinced that the virus is not even real and all of the deaths on the news are faked. There are event protests against wearing masks, the one thing that doctors are sure helps protect us against the virus. So far, it seems that the majority of republicans are taking the stance that they do not want to be forced to wear masks, and they are ready for the economy to open back up. On the other hand, liberals are supporting the wearing of masks and believe that social distancing is still necessary. 

The Assimilation of Masks in Fashion Trends

Due to the recent pandemic, people have been advised to wear masks almost everywhere they go. In response to this, some people have embraced this suggestion, and started using masks to express themselves. As I scroll through instagram I see brides wearing masks that match their dresses for their big day. There are also many stylish masks on amazon and in stores that are fun and expressive! This pandemic has changed the way we use clothing to express ourselves! I have even seen people purchase masks to match their outfits! It is very cool to see how people are responding to this pandemic and making something as unappealing as wearing a mask, a fun fashion trend!