Living in a COVID-19 world

Posted byDavid ValdezPosted inUncategorizedTags:, , , ,

Viruses. Infectious agents composed of capsids, fibers, and DNA, which invade cells and implants malicious blueprints to replicate itself and compromises immune systems of the infected. An agent so detrimental that it could cause damage by replicating itself and destroying its host. An agent so intimidating that you can’t kill them — because they’re not even alive! An agent so powerful, not even antibiotics would do anything (cause they don’t work on VIRAL infections). That is what was taught in my typical ninth-grade biology class back when school was in session and with a class size of about 20 people. Then who knew, four years later, all hell would break loose?

Back-tracking to January of this year, I was about to start the spring semester of my first year as a sophomore*. As I was enjoying the five-week winter break, I planned with my parents a summer trip to Europe — a place where I haven’t been in six years. All it took was months before January to let my father know to save up and consider the finances of the trip. Other than planning that summer vacation, I was ready to start the spring semester of college!

*by credit hours

As I enjoyed a fresh set of classes, I’ve made more friends, memories, and knowledge as the semester progressed. I managed to get in some experiences within the first two months of 2020: a Super Bowl house party crowded with several guys, an official school Mardi Gras festival, and a 5K running event, as well as the recurring Breakfast Taco Tuesdays from Honors. All these things were great to experience and basically defines the first half of my spring semester as well as my appetite.

Around this time, though, I started noticing something going down in China, where people started getting sick and infected by some virus. It was a situation that really just affected the area of origin, as well as international travel to and from that part of China; it didn’t really concern me since it was only happening overseas and only applicable to international travel towards a place where I did not intend on going for the summer. It started gaining traction when I heard that a study-abroad program in my university was pulled back into the United States from Italy; they had to quarantine for fourteen days upon arrival in San Antonio. In addition to that, I was in a church service based on giving and sharing with others. A pastor then demonstrated the message by spraying this bottle labeled “CORONAVIRUS CURE.” A few days after the service, my mother texted me that she was sick and had a fever…. A few days after the service, my mother texted me that she was sick and had a fever…

Okay, you may think that my mother tested positive for the virus based on my decision to end with an ellipsis along with the alleged use of foreshadowing. Well, that is not the case; fortunately, she just had a regular fever at the time. Regardless, my mother wanted to text me saying that we should reconsider the summer European trip. As you can see in the text below, I was totally oblivious about this coronavirus crap when I sent that text message; no one in my country really worried about it.

Around the beginning of March, I started taking precautions by washing my hands more thoroughly and frequently. I would start becoming more hesitant over small things like handshakes and high-fives towards others. I got ready to spend a whole week back in Houston with my family as planned. My spring break was going okay as planned: I got to go eat out in a restaurant with a group of six family members upon my arrival, got to enjoy hanging at my local Starbucks dining area while doing some college/work business, and I even decided to go visit a track meet to see my old high school team compete in it (while taking precautions of course; e.g., bringing sanitizing wipes). It was really the track meet that was the last normal activity I’ve ever participated in before everything shut down — including the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo!

As things are starting to shut down and close, the president of my university announced that there would be a spring break extension, a transition for online learning which was initially set to last until April 13th… and then it was finally set to continue through the rest of the semester. As I read that email, my concerns for COVID-19 intensified; I was more concerned about my livelihood than the disease itself. Around that time, I was an at-home tutor helping a student prepare for their STAAR test (which would later be cancelled) in which still meant that I’d have to go back to San Antonio for that moment — until I was told that we were also transitioning to tutoring online. I was also training to be a Young Life leader by attending these Monday night meetings to learn about the Gospel and spreading Its message — until it was put on hold and then transitioned to a Zoom format. Lastly, I was involved in this service project from Honors that involved fighting food insecurity on-campus in which we were somewhat struggling to achieve seventy-five (75) service hours to complete the Experience* — until… well the virus pretty much killed the experience. Despite all these accommodations and revelations, I still had reasons to go back to San Antonio, such as moving out of my dorm (or what I call “poopydavid’s place”).

*refers to a component of the UTSA Honors College which is designed to help students develop their resumes at a very competitive standard for the job market. we are required to do at least six.

II drove back to San Antonio on Saturday morning, March 21st. My main objective was to get to poopydavid’s place, pack up all my stuff, and GTFO out of my dorm with all my stuff; I had that day and a bit of Sunday to do so. I tore down my decorations: pictures, accolades, racing bibs, pieces of paper containing encouraging messages, etc. Then I started to pack up all my t-shirts and other clothing items by stuffing them in two moving boxes. The last night that I’d ever spent in poopydavid’s place was with three good friends — with one who showing up “virtually” through FaceTime. We had enjoyed playing Uno and just hanging around while enjoying our to-go pazookies since the BJs dining area was closed at the time. At first, I kinda wanted to physically distance myself from others, along with not being in housing’s way of enforcing distancing, so I kept suggesting that we’d find a place to do so, but I had decided to move on with my small dorm room anyways; I mean, I was not letting some stupid virus — unrelatable to my personal life — get in the way of seeing my friends one last time.

Sunday morning was when I had woken up from my last night at poopydavid’s place; the weather was a heavily overcast, dewy, and humid ordeal fitting to most of the students’ moods regarding move-out. As soon as I finished my everyday morning routine, I had gone to pick up and enjoy Taco Palenque* for the last time and while watching my last episode (while in my dorm; not the literal last episode) of The Office. As soon as I finished an episode of Michael Scott fooling around and indulging in such Taco P goodness, I called my mother to see if she was on her way; my sister picked up and told me that they were already crossing Seguin**. I picked up everything from my last meal (in poopydavid’s place), cleaned up, and started packing the rest of my stuffs — all while resenting the fact that they never gave me a heads-up. As soon as my mother and sister arrived, we started packing and moving and loading everything in two cars in such unfavorable wet weather conditions. I gave the now-empty dorm one last good look before I shut the door one last time — knowing that its the last time I will ever be in that room. We drove to out of the resident lot, to our San Antonio relatives to leave the mini-fridge since we had to borrow their truck, and leave the city for good.

*a fast-food taco chain based off of Laredo, TX. There are a couple of locations in San Antonio. Considered to be a popular taco place among the SA and Roadrunner communities.

**a medium-sized town situated on I-10. Approximately 45 minutes away from the UTSA main campus.

To summarize what just happened — my first year of college in-person: cancelled; my opportunity to go to the rodeo: cancelled; social events in college: cancelled; future Young Life clubs and their summer camps: cancelled; eating in a restaurant with friends and family: cancelled; going to the mall: cancelled; schools in general: cancelled; this Fiesta thing that was exclusive to San Antonio that I have yet to experience: cancelled; going to church in-person: cancelled; concerts despite never having been to one: cancelled; my birthday plans with my San Antonio friends to go to BJs: cancelled; and my plans to go to Europe with my family: CANCELLED! March was the month of cancellations and postponements all across everything and people’s lives; this bullsh*t virus canceled all events and activities! It was also cancelling many peoples’ lives, especially the ones who are old and/or have an underlying condition; even I asked myself if this coronavirus was going to cancel me. Well, honestly, I was more bothered and annoyed by this pandemic, rather than being scared and afraid by contracting the virus of cancellation. It is only a matter of time and resources to develop and distribute a vaccine to cancel this pandemic permanently.

I’ve done schoolwork over Blackboard* and celebrated my 20th birthday in quarantine with an ice cream cake and Whataburger at home all throughout late March through late May. I adapted through online coursework pretty fairly; it was mostly Calculus III that was most demanding, but not overwhelming. Interestingly enough, I had one class that assigned an essay on the coronavirus and how citizens should respond to it using evidence from the online articles given by the course. Despite the convenience coming from asynchronous coursework, it did not feel the same as if I had continued the semester in person. I stayed my ass in home for most of the time — although I started becoming more proactive by working out in the mornings with my freshly Amazon-ordered yoga mat to flourish my wellbeing and physical appearance. I finished out my semester pretty strong to where I did not have to opt-in for the credit/no credit grading mode.

*an online school portal used by UTSA; as synonymous as Canvas or itsLearning; fun fact: you can also check your grades there as opposed to going to Skyward separately.

What I have learned from this experience is that people should not take any human experience for granted, like going to the movies or the mall. I also learned that human beings will always be human beings by forgetting to social distance or wear a mask in public. I get it. I want this ridiculous pandemic to end as badly as the others. Still, we shouldn’t get really get ahead of ourselves and jinx the process of decreasing new cases. We must do whatever in our power to be safe and healthy. Currently, some members of my family are COVID-19 positive and are currently being treated for it (God bless them and the healthcare workers). So wear a mask, wash your hands, and keep a six-foot distance. Sometime in the future, whenever this pandemic ends, there would probably be a good chance of this topic being discussed in a typical ninth-grade biology class.

I never want to deal with this virus, or anything similar, EVER AGAIN!!

UPDATE (6/26/2020) — It has been announced that Harris County is on the level one scale (SEVERE — STAY HOME, WORK SAFE) on its’ coronavirus threat scale. I get it. We all want to go back to our normal lives and not worry about public health at all because it may seem “gross” and “unappealing”. I don’t like this, neither does the local government officials, as much as you do, but we need to eradicate the risks of this virus ASAP! I really want to go back to San Antonio and enjoy the wonderful scenery of the hills and limestone and everything. In fact, we’re doing really terribly with handling the surge of the new coronavirus cases. There are 2,367,064 confirmed cases in the United States compared to 196,827 in Mexico, our next door neighbor (World Health Organization; data found under resources). Let’s get our shit together and mitigate the spread of this virus. Don’t go out for “fun” outside, despite some places being open. Don’t go to the mall and pretend to feel like some wannabe influencer during this time enjoying this “influencer” environment (frequent Memorial City Mall guests, you know what I’m talking about). And WEAR A MASK if you ABSOLUTELY need to get essentials.

COVID-19 Resources:

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