I Miss Movies

I love movies. They are one of my favorite things in the world. But it isn’t just the screen time I enjoy, I love the experience of going to see a movie. I love the creaky seats, the over buttered to the point of dripping popcorn, the overpriced candy, the young kids laughing at juvenile jokes, the employees that look like they rather be anywhere else but there. I know this is a first world problem and that there are much more serious things to be complaining about during a pandemic, but I am bored! Not only do I not get the movie theater experience anymore, I don't get the movies. Movies already made had their premiere date pushed back indefinitely so they can make box-office profits and no movies are being currently filmed due to social distancing guidelines. I knew Covid would change they way we did things but I had no idea it would completely take away my favorite. 

Politics Effect Covid

 If for some reason China produced a vaccine that was superior to everyone else’s, global politics would greatly change. Core countries more than peripheral, because of the everyday travel and advancements made in them, would have to somehow become friendly with China. For the US, this means dropping the trade war and being talked into helping out China in exchange for a steady supply of Covid vaccines . Without this, whatever country has the vaccine will suddenly become a world superpower. This can go to the heads of the leaders in charge very fast and may pose health and security threats. A country that becomes Covid free would not be able to have in-person interactions with countries that are still being ravished by the virus, and it would ultimately be the fault of the country with the best virus for not working out a deal to supply it. Vaccine politics can play a large role in global politics.

Covid Fatigue

 Thousands and thousands of people are dying everyday from Covid-19. Those who survive it are still left with lasting effects that who knows when they will go away, if ever. As time goes on, cases are only rising. So I should be more frightened than I was in the spring, right? 

Except I’m not. 

It’s sad to say and hurts me a little to admit that I don’t care that much anymore. This idea is known as cognitive dissonance; I know it can hurt but I simply look the other way. Now don’t get me wrong, I still wear my mask in public and with friends and I still avoid large gatherings and frat parties because I care about not getting other people sick. However, I am in a position where I am healthy enough and at the right age range where if I got Covid, chances are it wouldn’t effect me that much. This pandemic and country-wide shut downs have been going on for almost 8 months now and there comes a point where I just can’t stress over it anymore. I will do what I can to protect myself and others, but at the end of the day I am losing motivation and interest. I try getting away from the world headlines on advancements with the virus through my schoolwork, but as a geography major, a majority of my schoolwork and discussions in class tends to gravitate towards it as well. At the beginning of the pandemic in March and April I remember being frightened to walk down the street with someone on the other side of it. Now, I feel desensitized as I can only do so much to protect myself and others. At the end of the day, whatever happens, happens and I just have to go with it. 

Covid Vaccines and Global Coorporation

When we go to our doctor or local pharmacy to get a vaccination we don't think anything of it. We sit down, roll up our sleeve, and within minutes we have an effective vaccine that will help protect us from dangerous microscopic killers. We never stop to think about where the vaccine comes from and how it go to us. 

Producing and delivering a Covid vaccine is a global effort for numerous reasons. First of all, there is a race to produce it. So many people are dying everyday, and the longer without a vaccine, the more people die. A lot of scientists in many countries are trying to produce a vaccine that can be administered. They need to work together to share chemicals as well as medical supplies and equipment. 

Delivering the vaccine might be even harder than producing it. This involves shipping the vaccine from wherever it is being mass produced all around the world on boat, planes and trucks. The vaccine will probably have to be kept at a specific temperature which could be hard to do. Because of globalization, everyone needs to be vaccinated otherwise the threat of the virus re-emerging will be strong. To do this, healthcare workers and doctors certified to administer vaccines will have to be brought to countries who lack this dire part. Also because of globalization, the vaccines will come at a price. Certain countries will just not have the means necessary to purchase enough doses and will have to rely on the generosity of others. 

All of the above factors require global integration and cooperation. Country leaders need to find a way to put feuds aside in order to work together. This is the only way a Covid vaccine would be distributed and for the world to turn back to “normal”. With a country’s refusal, I’d imagine there would be travel bans remaining in those places as well as arising issues with global economics. 

Covid and Culture

Social media is one, if not the biggest influences in our lives. It is something we are all on and share details about our life. Unlike any other global pandemic before, social media allows us to all have the platform to share our unique experiences during it. There are so many more primary sources available now because of it rather than the newspaper articles and black and white photos from before. I am a very big Hamilton fan so when it got added to Disney+ during the middle of the pandemic I was ecstatic and watched it numerous times. I also really enjoyed parodies of the songs, no matter the subject. This one I found was very fitting to our time as it discusses the argument about wearing a mask or not. Although it is not informative and made primarily for entertainment, I love seeing the creativity and humor that people express during hard times. 

Another social media post about Covid-19 I found from outside of the US. Through a class I took over the summer I became close friends with Mariana, a student who is also taking Geo 261 with me. She lives in Columbia and we’ve talked extensively about the different impacts Covid made, not only in our countries but our local communities. She has expressed to me that Covid hit the working class there especially hard. Since she lives in Bogota, I found this news video that further elaborates the lockdowns in place as well as how it has effected people. 

Bored In Lexington

 When I committed to UK in March I didn’t realize my life would still be directly impacted by Covid the way it was at the beginning of the outbreak. Looking back, I am still very happy I made the decision to move out here, but there are many things I don’t get to experience because of Covid. 

First of all, I don’t get the college experience that gets raved about by adults and in movies. I don’t get to experience frat parties and hanging out with different people in my room every day. I am struggling at even making friends when there is no place to meet them or hang out with them. Moreover, Lexington is a brand new city to me and it is disappointing that I am not able to discover it. Museums, restaurants, and attractions are all closed or operating in a very limited way, to the point where I cannot go and enjoy them. I was looking forward to coming to UK for more than the academics but now that is the  only aspect of it I get to experience which can be a little overwhelming at times. 

Dating During Covid

Relationships can be confusing and hard to manage during normal circumstances. Covid can add another layer of difficulty to them. The University of Kentucky has taken many precautions in order to keep all students healthy and on campus. This comes at a price to relationships. One of the steps taken prohibits students from having any guests in their room. This includes other UK residents that live on campus. Couples are being denied private places to spend time together and it is very frustrating. 

 

I am tired of sitting in the car in random parking lots all over Lexington with my girlfriend. I think we spend about 6 hours in the car together everyday while we do some classes, schoolwork, and not school related stuff like watching Tik Toks. I personally think it’s ridiculous that we can’t sign each other into our buildings. Except it doesn’t just end there. We have been yelled at for sitting together in the library. We were forced to move from the cubby we were sitting in because ‘only one person is allowed in one to maintain 6 feet of physical difference’ even though that same security guard did not yell at other people occupying cubbies together. Whether this is happened because of Covid mandates or as an act of homophobia, it is still annoying that we aren’t allowed places together. 

I get what the university is doing to try and keep us safe, but there is absolutely no difference between us hanging out in her car and off campus than it would be in a dorm room. In order to study together we have been forced to find off-campus restaurants and coffee shops that offer adequate WiFi to do work. This also forces us to spend money at these locations that we wouldn’t be spending if we could stay on campus. Now that the weather is getting cooler, we lose the opportunity to spend afternoons together at local parks around the city. 

We started to pet sit around Lexington just to be able to spend time together that doesn’t require wearing a mask or standing on different dots. While it is nice to have that space together, it takes lots of time and effort traveling to these houses from campus as well as doing our school work and taking care of the animals. 

I believe that students should be held accountable by the school for their actions. My girlfriend and I shouldn’t lose the privilege to go to each other’s rooms because some students can’t stop partying in the middle of a global health pandemic. We aren’t going to go into huge crowds and exposing/being exposed to the virus and we wear masks and social distance in public with friends. We simply want the ability to cuddle and watch an episode of TV together in between classes. 

Luckily our relationship is strong enough that these setbacks don’t impact us, but aspects of it can lead to some frustrations and issues in relationships. 

UK Core Issue: How Do We Distribute Covid Vaccines

 If there was a limited supply of a Covid vaccine and Fayette county only had enough for 1/3rd of its population, there would be a lot to consider. To start off, I would vaccinate health care workers and those who are very high risk. This would allow additional protection to those who are trying to combat the virus as well as those who can be severely susceptible to it, such as the elderly and people with underlying autoimmune diseases. After that I would chose to vaccinate essential workers who might not have the healthcare to be able to get the vaccine from their physician. These people are working tirelessly through dangerous conditions just to benefit others and the economy. They deserve the protection in order to do it more safely. 

Online Classes and Job Impacts

 I do not think that online learning has provide an equal opportunity for students during Covid. Many people, including myself, require that environment that forces them to focus. Sitting in my bedroom outside of the typical school environment I am used to, I lose all focus and desire to want to participate, let alone do well, in my online courses. The quick communication teachers and students have in the classroom is lost. The relationship they share is also lost which makes students feel like they are alone. 

I do believe that there should be a hardship clause for those students impacted so much by Covid to the extent that they might fail course work. When I say this I do not mean for this to imply to those who can’t focus or those that contract the virus but only have a few days of a sore throat and mild cough. This should only apply to students who have to prioritize taking care of their family, whether it be their sick parents or younger siblings because the parents are no longer able to. This hardship clause should also apply to students that get very sick from Covid and cannot do school for an extended period of time. I think with strict and written out guidelines this can be implemented as fairly as any other rule or law. This clause would have helped out one of my best friends from home. Her mom was very sick and on a ventilator in the hospital and her diabetic dad was also very sick from it. She did not attend online high school for several weeks while taking care of them as well as her two younger siblings. Her grades suffered from this and she did not leave town to go to college in the fall. She stayed home and is taking a few online classes at our community college because she still needs to help her mom out with everyday tasks she could do before getting sick. 

I don’t necessarily think that I will be less competitive in the job market because I am lacking the in-person classes that many countries in Europe and Asia are having. I think that the economy was hit so hard by this virus that many employers will look past our individual experiences with Covid and just hire the help they need even if our GPAs are a little bit lower. I don’t feel as if being stuck at home during school as compared to a classroom will be that detrimental in the large scale of finding a specific job. 

Getting Sick During A Pandemic

 Getting sick at college is never fun- especially when it is your first time away from your parents. Not feeling well in the middle of a global pandemic adds some stress to that. You are allowed to just be normal sick and not covid sick, right?

Day 1: I woke up one weekend with a headache but didn’t think much of it because I figured I was just dehydrated or didn't sleep enough. I went on with my day like usual. That night after getting into bed I was so cold. I put on a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and had blankets over me but I couldn’t stop shaking. I didn’t sleep well and woke up in the middle of the night in a pool of sweat. I got out of bed and spent the rest of the night on the couch but I didn’t sleep any better there. 

Day 2: I took Advil in the morning and my headache went away a little bit, but every time I stood up I got extremely dizzy. I didn’t think much of it still and just had a chill day that did not involve moving around much. I felt like this was going to pass and didn’t want to worry my mom with a phone call. After the Advil started to wear off I would take my temperature; it was never a 100.4 or higher but it was higher than my typical temperature when I was feeling well or when the Advil was working. 

Day 3: I woke up in the middle of the night again shaking and decided to take my temperature. It was 99.9. I called my mom who is a doctor because I didn’t know what to do. That day I fell asleep during all of my classes and did not get out of bed once. Later in the day I realized my muscles were feeling very sore after I moved. I have never experienced something like this so I was getting nervous. I never had an actual fever and I could still smell and taste things so I didn’t think it was covid. However, when covid is all people think about, it was not a super convincing thought. 

Day 4: I tossed and turned but managed to sleep though the night. My muscles were very weak and sore to move but my headache wasn’t as bad. My parents sent food to my dorm so I didn’t have to walk to the dining hall and only had to carry a few bags up from the lobby. My mom and I decided it was a smart idea to make an appointment at the health center even though I was starting to come around. 

Day 5: I woke up feeling completely normal. I met on Zoom with a doctor from the UK Healthcare system and after talking about my experience she was also in agreement that it wasn’t covid. However, because the generic symptoms I had like headache, sweats/chills, and muscle fatigue also fit into symptoms of covid, she had me come in to the health center later that day to get tested. I forgot to take a picture of the room when I got there because I was nervous about the test, but it looked like it was right out of a sci-fi movie. It did not feel like a regular day in Kentucky the way everything was sealed and the safety garments the person doing the test wore. 

Day 6: My test results came back about 24 hours later. I was negative! 

This was a scary experience. Even though it was just a migraine that wiped me out, the steps and mental drain of going through it during a health pandemic heightened my fears. Overall, the healthcare system at UK was very helpful during this time and seemed to have everything handled well. 

Food During Covid

Because of my family's financial situation, our food situation did not change much during Covid. My mom never stopped working so we still had money to pay for groceries and other household items before my dad's unemployment money started coming through. Thankfully, because my family only consists of four people, the limitations on items like milk and bread did not impact us. We were still able to access the store and get the items we are used to eating. However, sometimes the shelfs were bare and not because stores couldn't get shipments in, but because there were more people in my town than the stores were used to handling. Living at the beach, the majority of houses are only occupied during the summer so stores in the area carry surplus stock then. Because so many people were out of work, they decided to come to their beach houses early in the spring when our stores are not carrying enough for a summer population- just local. Regardless of this inconvenience, my family was still able to get groceries without much hassle unlike people who were more financially impacted by this pandemic. 

If anything, Covid helped broaden my family's diet. Before the pandemic, my parents both worked a lot so we got into a rhythm of what we ate and very rarely tried something new. Now that we were all stuck in the house, we took turns looking through the cookbooks that collected dust for years and we each picked out recipes to try. This was fun, not only to try something new but to spend quality time with my family in the kitchen. We seldom spent time in there all together and it was nice to have the opportunity to do that. 

What To Trust

 I turn to my mom's work for information about Covid-19. She works for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. At the beginning of the pandemic when I was still living with her I was a lot more up to date about what was going on because it was all she would talk about. Now while I'm at school I trust what she reports to me over the phone and what UK puts out. I also look at CHOP's website for updates.  I do not trust news outlets for information as I rather get my medical advise as unbiased as possible. Even though health should not be controversial, somehow everything in 2020 is. Most of my family listens to what my mom and her hospital put out for information. I believe some of my friends are relying on faulty advice from unreliable sources found on their phones, however, since I am not home and not around them, I do not think much about it and focus on my safety more. With only having 2 or 3 friends in college so far I have not found myself having a conversation about what or what not to believe. It has caused not much if any conflict in my life. 

In the long run, I think that both the pandemic itself and the way it is being politicized are equally as dangerous. They work hand in hand together. The more political it becomes, the more people will stop following guidelines and regulations. The more people that start doing that, the more cases will spread,  worsening the pandemic itself, causing it to become even more politically charged. It is an endless cycle that I am really hoping ends soon. I am unsure of how this will effect our country in the long run- but I highly doubt it will be positive. 

Wearing A Mask Is So Normal Now

Wearing a mask was weird at first but now it just a natural part of the day. While watching TV shows and movies I've caught myself thinking for a minute that it is weird a character approached someone without putting a mask on first or the potential dangers of having large groups of crowds. It is so strange to think that before five months ago all of this would not have been a thought in the slightest.

 Another example from today goes to illustrate this idea of normalcy. As a freshman in college, free food is a very big deal. So naturally when I got a message from my RA saying that there is free pizza in the lobby, I jumped out of my bed. I ran out into the hallway and found my neighbors also leaving to get pizza. It wasn't until we ran down five flights of steps that it occurred to me I did not have my ID card to get back into the room. I managed to grab my mask and put it on in the midst of my excitement but I never thought to grab my ID. I was locked out and had to track down my roommate in order to reenter my room. A face mask is so engrained in today's world that is seems strange to not have worn one at all. 

How UK is Limiting the Spread of Covid-19

 Based on what I've seen and heard on campus, I do not think that UK will go all online before the end of the semester. First and foremost, most of us have the majority of classes already online. I personally only have one in person class which is also formatted in a way to be taken fully online. In at least the lecture hall my class is in, we have to sit physically distant from each other. My professor also calls everyone out when their mask slips below their nose.  Classroom traffic is already low, preventing the spread of the virus that way. I do not believe taking away all in person classes will make that significant of a difference.  

Furthermore, the dining facilities are doing a good job with spaced-out chairs and tables inside. They have spots on the ground as markers for where to stand while in line and everyone does what they are supposed to. The take-out containers are not ideal but it is a lot better than having to reuse dishes and utensils. The addition of food trucks around campus with the option of using meal swipes at them is very nice. It gives us more food options and spreads out the crowds. 

The University of Kentucky is working very hard to create events for us to attend instead of going to off campus to unregulated gatherings. Last night, I went to an outdoor movie. When I arrived, there were blankets set up in the grass that were distanced from each other. Even though most people attended with friends, we all kept our distance. The school is trying to find ways for us to socialize and have fun while still staying safe and I believe they are doing a good job at it. 

At the residence hall I live in, there are several tables and chairs outside in the courtyard. The first week or so of living here I noticed the same two groups of 10 or so people each sitting around tables they've pushed together with no masks on. The school noticed and the next week they brought a truck to load up all of the excess chairs so there is only two per table instead of four. People still sit in groups of more than two and still move the tables around but since there are physically less chairs present, less people have been congregating.

With having students live on campus, it is impossible to have complete control over everything. However, the school is doing a great job and being proactive where they can to limit the number of coronavirus cases spread. I believe that with all of the protocols in place UK will not have to go completely online by the end of the semester. 

These are the signs placed on chairs in my in-person class. Students are separated by more than 6 feet in all directions. 

This is a video I took from the outside movie put on by UK. I went with my girlfriend but we followed the social distancing rules in place. 

#SaveTheTurtles to #SingleUseOnly

So much has changed in the last five months. 2020 was supposed to be a year where we as the human race work together to continue the decreasing trend towards eliminating waste. However, in the present world of heightened sanitation that mindset has all gone away. Instead of eliminating plastic we now package everything in it, making sure the recipients of what is inside know it has not been contaminated.  It is calming in a sense to know that the things I use have not been exposed, but it's alarming to consider what it is doing to our planet. While living at the beach and in Kentucky, two very different environments, it's sad to see disposable medical masks littering the ground all over both places. Since indoor dining is a no-go in today's world, the university provides us with styrofoam take-out containers for each meal at the dining hall. This is good and all, allowing us to eat outside or in the comfort of our dorm room but it is detrimental to the environment.The amount of trash that will soon pollute our oceans is frightening.  Our lives went from metal straws and #savetheturtles to plastic utensils and #singleuseonly all because of a microscopic killer. 

Trash can outside of Lewis Hall overflowed with styrofoam take-out containers.

Introduction

My name is Mollie Share. I am 17 years old and I am from Atlantic City, New Jersey but attending college at University of Kentucky in Lexington. I come from a middle-class Jewish family. Living in New Jersey while the outbreak first surged was very surreal. Everything was shut down, most people lost their jobs, and curfews were in place. I didn't see anyone outside of my immediate family for months. My mom is a pediatrician and would work long hours in the office or through telemedicine. I would take a walk with her every evening after she got off work to enjoy the fresh air. Except the fresh air wasn't as relaxing as it used to be. We would cross to the other side of the street to avoid walking passed people. We became skeptical of our neighbors, people who've seen me grow up my whole life. No one trusted anyone as we were all fearful to come in contact with the deadly virus. Thankfully no one in my family has contracted the virus but it was a very odd feeling to visit my grandparents in Philly for Mother's and Father's day to only be able to wave at them from the car. Since my mom was still going to work and was working hands on with the virus she did not want to take the chance of giving it to my grandparents. Covid-19 really put into perspective the relationships you had with people and who you are as a person. I finished my senior year of high school online and did not get to experience the milestones like prom, senior trip, and graduation, but I did not let that affect me as looked forward to college in the fall. 

Last week I moved 11 hours away from my home to Lexington, Kentucky, a state I do not know a single person in. It will be an interesting journey making new friends and adjusting to college classes all while living through this historic semester.