Coronavirus Controls Me - An Editorial

Coronavirus Controls Me

By Haven Patton

I remember sitting in my psychology class a month or two ago when I first heard about the Coronavirus. I had no clue what it was or who it was affecting, but today, it has taken my life for a complete 180.

Last week, I was in Florida and was out of school for a week. I saw firsthand, this infectious disease taking over our country day by day; it pushed people into absolute panic mode.

 The day that my flight left, I had a volleyball tournament in Ohio. We were not allowed to shake hands before the game, but simply had to wave across the court to the opposing team. My team, as well as other teams, found this to be so funny that we couldn’t touch hands because of a virus. Today, I now realize that those precautions were 100% necessary.

After my tournament ended, my mom and I left to head to the Pittsburgh Airport. When arriving, I was surrounded by thousands of people; many of those people wearing masks. Again, I found this same scenario to be funny. Why would you ever walk around with a mask on when the virus isn’t going to affect you?

The first three days of our Florida trip had passed. We were sitting up in our hotel room when my Dad turned to a press conference with President Donald Trump. He was talking about the virus, but I honestly can’t recall anything that was said during this, because I never thought the virus would affect me. 

Here I am today, with the virus affecting almost everything in my life. It’s extremely hard to stay optimistic about this pandemic when my life feels empty right now. It seems like everything that I have worked hard for is over. My club season for volleyball that I have put hours upon hours into has come to an end. The tournaments that my team were so excited for, the tears, the sweat, and the heart we poured into our practices seems meaningless now. The baseball trip to Myrtle Beach that I was so looking forward to is now cancelled. My learning is now a whole different style that requires significant adjustment. With all of these things, it seems so awful, but in reality I am one of the lucky people.

I have come to realize that this virus isn’t something to take lightly, because although I may be fine if I were to get it, there are so many other people who wouldn’t be okay. These precautions and steps that we have to take are tolerable if it means lives can be saved. Even if all of my activities and extracurriculars are postponed, I am beyond blessed to say that I am healthy. I have a family that is all healthy. My friends are all healthy. And to me, that is the most important thing.