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. 

My First Event Back on Campus

Since I've been back in Lexington, I haven't gone to any events on or off campus. I was kind of nervous but also knew things wouldn't be the same so why bother? I've been quite bored until my friend convinced me to attend a probate with her this past weekend. For those of you who don't know what a probate is, a probate is a new member presentation where new members present history of their NPHC organization and reveal who they are to those watching. These are always so fun to watch and it's very exciting for members of that particular organization and other members of greek life. They held the probate outside which was comforting and had cones designating what was 6 feet apart for social distancing measures. They also had designated entrances and exits and had people check in using their link blue at the entrance. Masks were also required the entire time. Everything looked pretty promising until it became crowded. 

Above is a picture I took at the probate. There are clusters of people when they're all supposed to be sitting 6 feet apart by the cones. The young woman in the bottom left corner also has her mask pulled all the way down as well as some others throughout the crowd. Not pictured is more clusters of people throughout the venue. Since it was outside a lot of people came in through the exit, but at the end of the show mostly everyone left at the designated exits after an announcement was made. 

Overall, I think this was managed pretty well other than the many clusters of people. Events on campus will continuously be held with guidelines such as making check in mandatory, having designated entrances and exits, wearing masks, and social distancing. However, I think there needs to be a capacity for those attending events. That's the only way to ensure that people are spread apart enough and to prevent these large clusters seen above. The event itself was still enjoyable even with all the COVID-19 prevention guidelines, but things need to be ran a little more strict if events such as these are to continue throughout the semester. 

Will UK be Completely Virtual by the End of the Semester?

 As a University of Kentucky student, I've gotten a unique look at how things are ACTUALLY happening on campus. After the first few weeks of observing, I do think that we will be able to continue in-person lecture through the end of the semester. Currently some classes are completely online while others have a hybrid format or are in person. Personally, majority of my classes are online and others are hybrid. The hybrid courses give the option to be in zoom instead of meeting in person which is really convenient. When I am on campus, I see majority of people wearing their masks. However, there are always some people with it below their nose or not wearing a mask at all. It doesn't seem like the masks rule is strictly enforced everywhere on campus which is concerning. 

Additionally, I think students should be tested often for COVID-19 because they could test negative one week and have it the next week. It was smart for the second phase of testing to include those involved in greek life getting retested because at other schools a lot of COVID clusters started at frat parties or things of that nature. I know a few people who attended frat parties recently and weren't wearing masks and definitely weren't social distancing. If the University decides to make tests required for all students every two weeks or even weekly, I think that the chances of keeping the spread to a minimum would be a lot higher. 

A big reason why I think that we will not have to go completely online is because the lack of off campus activity. There has been a lot of talk circulating around campus about the fact that people are scared to have parties because of the possibility of being suspended or expelled. Surprisingly, people have kept gatherings small enough to go undetected by UK police or Lexington police. I think that if people continue not hosting parties that the chances of an outbreak will be at a minimum. I also think that it's smart for organizations such as SAB to offer activities virtually so people are still able to participate. When they do host in person activities, they're held in places where social distancing can be enforced which is really important as well. 

Retesting students, daily wellness screening, enforcing social distancing and wearing masks are key things that will help us make it through the semester without having to be completely online. Be smart, be safe, and be cautious of those around you!

Future Scholars, it's Nice to Meet You

 I could start this blog by jumping right into COVID-19 talk and how it affects me, but who exactly am I? Well for starters, my name is Jordan Redding and I'm a 20 year old junior at the University of Kentucky. Typically, people look forward to their junior year of college because they usually turn 21, are half way done with undergrad, and can call themselves upperclassmen. So what am I supposed to look forward to this year? I can't go out to bars and party on my 21st birthday...I'm halfway done with undergrad but it feels like I'm starting something brand new...but why is this year so different? This pandemic has thrown everyone into a whirlwind of change that no one was ready for.

I've given you a slight glimpse as to who I am, but here's another: I'm an African American female. Now if we're being technical, I'm a lot more than just black, but to the bare eye no one would know that. Unless it's the middle of July and my skin is glowing from the deep brown rich tan I have and my natural curly hair is blowing through the wind. This might not seem like it makes a huge difference but I'll explain why it does. Picture this: a man who is Cuban, Dominican, Filipino, and West Indian marries a woman who is black and Irish. They have a daughter who has a child with a man who is black. That child is me. People often wonder why I don't tan like "the average black girl" or why my hair texture isn't as kinky as other black girls when I identify as black and this is why. I absolutely love my heritage and if you were ever around my family, you'd quickly see that. But off of looks you'd think I'm just an African American young woman. Biology has a weird way of expressing traits you inherit from your parents now doesn't it?

So now that that's covered, let's take a deeper dive into who I am. Here we go: I come from a middle class family from the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. I've lived a pretty comfortable life: got a brand new car before my 16th birthday, always lived in a nice house, holidays are filled with love and joy. Thankfully, I have never had to deal with any hardships, until I woke up one day living in a global pandemic.

My family consists mostly of engineers and nurses, so from the nurses in my family (who risk their lives everyday) I've gotten a pretty good outlook on how this COVID-19 thing was affecting areas around me. Personally, I'd say this pandemic has been less of burden on my family than others. This is because both of my parents are essential workers so they thankfully never stopped working. The first way COVID-19 affected me was when all restaurants closed down and I was unable to work or find a job. This was really hard for me because I've worked since I was 15, so I could only imagine what other's were going through as this was a minor loss on a much bigger scale. Although COVID-19 is everywhere, the closest it came to me was when my cousin, who's a nurse, tested positive. Thankfully she recovered and is doing well, but it was frightening knowing she could've been much worse. The biggest impact COVID-19 has had on me is really just limiting things I do on a daily basis, such as going to stores and eating out at restaurants, as well as being in school online. 

Now that introductions are over, I hope you have a good picture of who I am so that as you read this blog you can try to read it through my eyes. It will give you a first hand look into the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects it has on everyday life including my personal life as well. I hope you enjoy!