COVID and Food

When restaurants shut down in Ohio in March of 2020 I had to adjust quickly to my new normal. Usually, I would go out and buy food or meet my friends at a restaurant almost every other day. Once the restaurants closed I had no choice but to eat at home. My mom always cooked so this wasn't a big deal, I was just so use to buying whatever I wanted to eat whenever I wanted to eat it. Other than COVID affecting my accessibility to fast food, it affected accessibility to things you'd typically find everyday in a grocery store. Things such as beef, bread, and water were often hard to find throughout lockdown. However, it saved me a lot of money because there was no where to spend it.

Overall, COVID improved my diet because I was unable to eat out as much. I ended up eating less simply because I had more balanced meals so I wasn't as hungry as I usually thought I was. I had healthier options for food and snacked less. My family also made things fun by having everyone in our household cook dinner one night. For my night, I made meatball sub boats, which are pictured below. 

Additionally, I was unable to return to my longtime job at Buffalo Wild Wings due to it being closed because of COVID. It took about a month to find a new job (I was finally hired at Walmart) because most places were closed or not hiring. COVID guidelines made working anywhere quite an adjustment as well because of how different things were. The way stores were ran completely changed; for example, they had to follow strict capacity guidelines and wear masks at all times. Hours of operation for stores also changed and those changes are still in affect today. 

Overall, COVID had a huge impact in every aspect of my life. I've benefited from some of the changes made but other changes not so much. As the pandemic continues, changes in my life will continue, so I've learned not to get too comfortable under current conditions. 

Will COVID-19 Lead to the Shut Down of College Campuses?

Some colleges have made the decision to have a fully online fall semester while others have decided to have students back on campus. UNC Chapel Hill had students return to campus, but this didn't work out so well for them. As "COVID clusters" began popping up rapidly within the first week of classes, the school decided to shut down and send students back home. The video below discuses how off campus events such as parties and other things led to this. It also talks about how there were large gatherings outside of residence halls where students weren't following COVID guidelines. Several police reports also showed citations for mass gatherings on and off campus. This sparked a lot of talk in the college student community throughout social media. A lot of students from other schools felt pretty strongly about the topic and don't want to be sent back home. People who live in apartments would care a little less if a shut down happened because they wouldn't have to go home. I can't say the same for those who live in dorms because they would be forced to move back home which could be detrimental for some. Students who are lucky enough to be back on campus shouldn't take advantage of the opportunity they have and continue to be safe. It only takes a handful of people to mess things up for a whole campus, as seen at UNC Chapel Hill. Although there has been some parties here at University of Kentucky, I would say that there's no large gatherings that would lead to an outbreak like the UNC Chapel Hill had. Hopefully students on all campuses continue to practice social distancing and keep gatherings to a minimum; however, with college students there's really no telling what will happen in the upcoming months.

Information on the Pandemic

 There's always a lot of different information circulating in the news and social media about the COVID-19 pandemic. Some sources are more reliable than others, while some just make no sense. Personally, I turn to the CDC when it comes to information and read their posts. I also read posts from other hospitals just to see what's going on in other areas. I don't trust social media outlets just because there's more than enough fake news going around as it is. I have acquaintances who just believe anything they hear which causes them to act as if this pandemic isn't real. This has caused minor conflict in my life because I just remove myself from being around them...if they want to go out and act as if they can't contract the virus then so be it but leave me out of it!

Additionally, I think that it's more dangerous that the pandemic has been politicized than the pandemic itself. This is because people align the pandemic with the fact that it's an election year. COVID-19 Effect on Election talks about how each party has had to adapt to limitations regarding the pandemic. It's uprooted traditional election campaigns. It's also caused people to evaluate how President Trump responds to the pandemic as people have been concerned for their safety. I've heard people say the pandemic is fake and was just a plot to get President Trump reelected, I've heard others say that the government constructed the virus to take attention away from the election. It all sounds crazy if you think about it given people are actually dying from the virus. COVID-19 is no where near done and neither is the election. I think the effects of both will last longer than the public may be prepared for which is kind of a scary thought.