Hey guys.
It's Lay.
As I'm writing this, my last update blog has been written where I was talking about my life. When I wrote my life update, it was ending of February to early March, so things were still kind of normal. As time went on things kinda started crazy. Unless you live under a rock you know that the Coronavirus has hit the United States and New York being on the worst impacted states. As of March 11th, 2020: I has been announced that CUNYs and SUNYs are in the process of suspending in-person classes. I was hoping that things would calm down by time I was looking to write a new post but since it hasn't unfortunately, I decided I wanted to talk about my experience during this time because being college a student, a person with asthma and a person who unfortunately got a cold during this time, things for me has been really crazy. I also wanted to share ways to cope with the possible anxiety you may be facing so stay tuned until the end.
Why I haven't left my house since March 2nd
I haven't been attending classes since after March 2nd because that day I got really sick. At first, I thought I was fine because breathing issues are normal for me. I actually developed asthma, 2 years ago in 11th grade. I still remember the first time I had an asthma attack to a point where it felt like I was suffocating and had to use one of those breathing machines and take medication. I missed so many days of school after that.
I didn't think I would feel that feeling of suffocation again until I did March 3rd. Lucky for me I didn't have school Tuesdays or Wednesdays, so I ended up going to the doctor the next day. There was no fever but I did have a cough and kept sneezing so it was a cold and how I got a cold is beyond me because I always dressed properly.
I've been on antibiotics and cough medicine since then and I'm still coughing but it doesn't sound as bad as it did before. Just to let you guys know, Antibiotics are nasty and the amount of times it landed on my tongue when I was trying to swallow it is actually comedic.
What inspired me to write about this is the fact I haven't left my house with the exception of going to the doctor. This situation has been horrifying for me, not in the way that people are panicking and buying everything but in terms of an individual with asthma and a weak immune system (when I tell you I was sick so much in high school a lot, that is an understatement). Obviously there's still a lot of people who are higher risk than me and I truly hope they don't come in contact with someone who's carrying but when you have similar symptoms (coughing, shortness of breath), people asking if you contracted it get in your head.
I got over myself but the idea of being on the train while still fighting off a cold is unappealing. My commute on the train is at least an hour and 10 minutes ( without delays), the walk from my house to the train station is about 15 minutes and the walk from Penn station to the school is about 10 minutes. Do you know how many germs I could be inhaling on that commute?
What's it like being home and how it effect my routine
I had online classes already so working from home wasn't bad but the thing is some of my teachers weren't understanding. When I emailed her to explain my situation and told her I had doctors note, she still marked my work late, said I couldn't make up the quiz and told me that being sick isn't an excused absence. To me that didn't make sense because we are literally in a national emergency where they say if you are sick to stay home for at least 14 days because by then whatever you have should be gone. Funny enough 2 weeks for me would be March 16th but now we don't have classes or online classes because they are preparing for distance learning.
Some of my friends from high school already started distance learning and they have to like use video conferences or something to like face time the class which to me is terrifying. That means I would have to get ready to just sit in my house which is weird. I hope it's more like my current online classes where we either do video diaries or just respond to discussion questions. On the bright side for distance learning, I wouldn't have to get up 5am which means I can get at least another 2 hours of sleep since my classes don't start until 9 am and I wouldn't need to get up until 7am to fix breakfast and do make up.
I don't really know they'll do about Jazz class but if I have to stay home, I'll try doing home workouts once a day.
What I feel about the situation as a whole
I feel like the situation is scary as someone with asthma but I feel more worried about the panic buying going on, I feel more bad for the people who are higher risk, I feel bad for the asian community who are losing business and are getting hurt on public transportation because of simply being asian, I feel bad for the people who has already lost someone due to virus, I feel bad for the youth who was looking forward to all the thing I already got to enjoy ( prom, graduation, senior trips, sweet 16 celebration etc) .
This whole situation is just insane, not because the virus itself but for the fact it highlights peoples true colors. Humanity is could be selfish, but remember it's not everyone. My Advertising and Promotions professor sent the class an email and it was actually reassuring to get a message like that because like I mentioned before certain professors haven't been as understanding. I wanted to share a list of thing to do during this time to keep you positive and safe.
Tips to help you through this time
1. Have time where you don't use electronics
The more time you spend on social media or watching the tv, the more you get reminded of the problem. While it's important to know what's going on and knowing the facts, waiting for the next update is just unhealthy and could lead for you to start getting depressed and unmotivated. Read a book, do some writing, draw, paint a picture, Do a puzzle, word search, cook, bake, rewrite an ending to a story you love, take a shower, do your nails, build something etc. Just do something that doesn't involve you staring at the phone or TV for a period of time but check in a few times a day to know what's happening in the world.
2. Finish tasks that you've been putting off
For me this is getting rid of papers, cleaning out my closet etc. If you are like me you probably make excuses to not do something because "there's not enough time" well if you are at home and you finished the work you needed to do by a certain time, why not catch up on the things you said you would do if you had the time:? It is spring and spring cleaning is still on the priority list so just do things in segments so you can take your time to really do what you need to.
3. Come up with a plan to achieve something you wanted to do
Write down a list of projects you always wanted to start: A series for your blog, a video game idea, a youtube series, a cartoon you always wanted to make, a script for a play you always wanted to direct etc. Just go for things you were dreaming of doing and make it a reality.
4. If you go shopping, please shop as normal
I understand some people shop for other relatives like their sister's family, their parents, their grandparents etc. Just remember there are a lot of other people out there who are new parents, elders etc. The most you need is supplies for 2 weeks (most people are paid bi-weekly) not 2 months.
5.Call/ text/ facetime people you care about
If you care about someone, always make sure they know because anything could happen and even if you can't see them in person just reaching out to people and letting people you care about them and want to make sure there doing well is everything
6. If you aren't sick, do a physical activity in an open area
If you live in a house and have a backyard, maybe go outside and do some form of physical activity like playing soccer or basketball. I'm sure as long as you aren't in a crowded place you'll be okay. If you live in an apartment, there isn't a lot you can do (I know from experience), so try things more indoor friendly activities like yoga, pilates etc.
7. When you get inside, wash your hands first
This is just a reminder to be as hygienic as possible, I saw a post on twitter and this person proudly said they don't wash their hands after using the bathroom in their own home and I've never been so disgusted. If you use the bathroom, wash your hands. If you come from outside , wash your hands. Also for the people who only shower in the morning and don't shower after being out all day, for your safety take a shower when you get home.
8. Make a watch list for shows and movies
All those shows and movies you didn't have time for, you can now watch. Maybe plan it with your friends to watch the same shows and movies or use those group apps that allows you to watch thing together because that way you'll have something to talk about.
9. Take free Online classes from Ivy league colleges
A friend told me about this on facetime and a found an article with links to each of the different online learning programs. It is important to stay engaged as much as possible so if you want you should check out which courses you can do which is really something important for people who haven't been in school for awhile or people who couldn't afford college or even people who are in college and can't take specific classes because they don't fall into their curriculum.
If you are anything like me, seeing things about the virus at times can get overwhelming but I felt like if I didn't acknowledge it people would find my post to be too superficial. I remember one of my favorite youtubers saying something about coachella being cancelled and everyone started coming for her. Like I get there's a lot going on but I also feel like people's emotions of disappointment, sadness, anxiety etc. are valid and even if it wasn't a music festival a person was excited for, there are a lot of things that are being effected: TV shows, movies, concerts, the NBA, the economy, businesses (especially asian owned because people love to discriminate), Colleges (especially if it's your first year, you didn't even get to experience what college is like when it's warmer), grocery stores. So with all that being said, this isn't meant to offend anyone or dilute the issue of the virus because I'm aware that many people are effected, I just believe that even if you can't relate to someones problems or emotions, just be respectful.
Just to clarify because I don't want anyone coming for me and saying "I'm taking things too lightly" when I'm just giving suggestions and I really want to just help people not become anxious about this to a point where their mental health becomes ill. I'm already working on revising my blog post schedule and writing out new post ideas. I hope you are all staying safe and with all that being said I hope you are doing well.
Until next time,
xoxo Lay 💋
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