Desmond Keuper
Salvete Omnes,
The COVID-19 outbreak has been scary for us all. The stories about the increasing amounts of people the virus has infected and killed, as well as forecasts for the trajectory of the pandemic, have left us all panicked.
But even worse, in some ways, is the uncertainty that everyone feels. IB exams have been canceled for seniors, but we might be back in school by May. The shutdown was planned to last until April 20th, but now it’s possible that schools will be closed for the rest of the academic year. People are unsure how this pandemic will affect graduation, or the International Baccalaureate.It does not feel like there is any plan in place. Most of us haven’t experienced something on this scale, and are unsure how to feel.
It is this confusion that disorients us. No one knows when things will return to normal.
But in the meantime, we will persevere.
We need to keep doing what the doctors say we need to do to stop the spread of the virus and bring things back to normal quickly and with minimal damage. If we feel sick, we will self-quarantine. We will continue to wash our hands and to stay six feet away from each other, and carry on with online learning.
But we should not let social distancing become social isolation. We should stay in contact with each other. Text each other. Send each other messages on Snapchat. Instagram. In these tumultuous times, we need each other more than ever. We need to feel that there is something that will remain constant, and that something is our sense of community.
I was born a month after September 11th. None of us are able to remember a time before America sent troops to Afghanistan. We’ve seen hurricanes and the rise and fall of terrorist organizations. We’ve lived through tumultuous times.
To say that COVID-19 is nothing new would be a lie. As I said, it’s not like anything we’ve experienced. But we’re a generation that has become accustomed to tumult. Throughout our lives, our country has been in a constant state of war. We have lived through one of the most polarizing elections America has ever seen. Together, we will live through the virus. Things are grim, things are confusing, and things may get worse, but eventually things will get better.
The Latineer will continue to report throughout the pandemic.
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