The United States and the rest of the world are seeing an alarming increase of COVID-19 cases–as experts said we would once autumn would come around. Yet it seems that no one on my social media feeds are taking this pandemic seriously. I understand that some people are beginning to crack after so many months in isolation, but this is not the way.
Thanksgiving is upon us and it is best to spend it with whoever you are currently living with. I can imagine it is especially difficult for college students who are currently dorming. Those students are faced with going home, celebrating the holiday but all the while playing with the risk of endangering their family to the virus. The other option, the safer option, is spending the Thanksgiving holiday alone in their dorm with their roommate, if they have one.
I understand how difficult that may be. I myself am accustomed to celebrating with a majority of my family on my mom’s side and we will not be getting together this year. Even though all of us have been staying safe, and not traveling unnecessarily; we ultimately decided that it was best to spend it separately. Even though we won’t be getting together, the idea of a group FaceTime was brought up so we will be doing that instead. We are a rather small, yet unified family so it will certainly be a challenge spending the holiday separately, especially that we lost a close family member due to COVID-19. I point this out because every family and friend group will face a test this holiday season and it is up to us to take up that challenge.
Instead of getting together with your friends for the Thanksgiving holiday, create a Zoom meeting and share a meal together virtually. Just imagine if someone in the friend group unknowingly had the virus and spread throughout the event. Then those friends who unawarely caught it take it back to their families over the holidays. In my viewpoint, it is pure selfishness to hang out and attend “Friendsgivings” right now. With the cases being so high in Illinois, the chances of people having COVID-19 are higher than ever before, with 1 out 18 having it. Don’t be selfish and stay home.
Teenagers and young adults are also not only to blame, there are also some adults having a problem with staying indoors. Given the advisory warning to stay home and with it being the Thanksgiving holiday, it certainly brings up a conflict of interest. I understand that people feel the need to stock up their pantry for the holiday but given the circumstances, don’t. If you choose to, a safe alternative is ordering your groceries. If you cannot order your groceries or fight that urge of overstocking, then shop locally, avoid crowded grocery chain stores such as Walmart, Target, and Jewel, etc.
This Thanksgiving break, think about all the nurses and doctors working absolute overtime to meet the demands of filled to the brink hospitals. I ask each of you to think about your loved ones and of the harm you can put them in by getting together. Life is indeed short, but do not make it shorter by taking those risks.