COVID-19 has drastically changed the lives of a lot of people, me included. From lost wages to lost lives, this pandemic has not discriminated against anyone. Since I work in the field of education, I think COVID mostly impacted my job. Although I wasn’t prepared, I do feel like I adjusted quite well…I was able to continue to work here & there and was blessed to continue to pay my bills (for the most part). Of course, the same can’t be said can everyone. Back in Late February, we didn’t know much about Coronavirus. Our leaders didn’t really give us much useful information and the information we did get was a mixture of misinformation and fake news. As we know, COVID has been running rampant in certain parts of the country, the Midwest being one of them. I read an article earlier in the year where Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, spoke on another, potentially debilitating, consequence of the infection: post-viral syndrome. I have an extremely close friend who lives in Ohio (I’m sure we’ve all heard the horror stories of the of COVID running rampant in the Midwest) that had COVID and, after she got over it, she contracted the post-viral infection. The sickness caused her to fall into a coma for 8 days. Although she has a clean bill of health now, imagine my fear…the fear of her parents and siblings. That’s why it makes me VERY upset to hear people talk about this virus like it’s not real…I know people who have cried and died over this, conspiracy theories only go so far. I think it’s funny to see how many people refuse to wear a mask. You’ll see the bumper stickers that say “My Governor is an idiot” all because they’re making decisions to preserve life. But we all know where that stupidity stems from…that’s another discussion for another day.