Coronavirus Thoughts

These are very strange times. The current global situation is the kind of thing you read about in a sci-fi novel, not something you expect to experience yourself. It's very surreal.

Life goes on much as before but, beyond the boundaries of our homes, things are very different. There are ever increasing death tolls announced on the news each night. There are only a handful of countries in the world that don't yet have Covid-19 horror stories. We hear of all the people that are struggling at this time: the homeless, the refugees, the abuse victims, the ill, the care-workers, the NHS, the economy, the parents, the students, the self-employed, the elderly, the gig economy workers, the poor... the list goes on. Everyone's struggling. The more you think about all of this the scarier it becomes.

I feel very privileged to be in the position I'm in: at home in the countryside, able to go outside for exercise and at a point in my education where grades aren't very important. The weather has been mostly nice so far and I've been keeping busy. It's given me time to take up forgotten hobbies and to learn new skills. It's been an opportunity to relax and do things I don't normally take the time for. It's not ideal but it's not bad.

I miss being at university. My calendar was packed for March and it is a real shame that so many events had to be cancelled. There was a Scottish dance competition that we'd been rehearsing for for weeks, two dances with the Scottish dance society, a ceilidh to celebrate the end of the Abergreen project, performances by various groups such as the showchoir, concert band, drama groups, a cappella group, etc. Then there were little the things I was hoping to do with friends: baking, badminton, nights out, day trips... For me personally, the worst thing about lockdown so far is that I don't get to see my friends again for at least six months. The summer is tolerable but if we can't go back to uni in September then that'll be really sad.

I'm doing my best to carry on with a bit of studying but all the formal university teaching is over now. Really I didn't miss out on too much learning. Face-to-face teaching was suspended only two weeks before we were supposed to finish the courses anyway. My French classes continued via online learning with group video calls and recorded lectures. Most assessments were already completed so no major loss. Real estate too, continued through recorded lectures uploaded online so we covered all the course material. However, all exams have now been cancelled so we will not be assessed on the course which is a shame because without the motivation of an exam it is extremely unlikely that I will ever take the time to properly learn the course material. That just leaves economics which was a disaster even before the pandemic because of all the strikes that took place this semester.

When it became clear that coronavirus was spreading fast in the UK, lots of people started panic buying. Shops sold out of toilet paper, cleaning products, eggs, bread, tinned foods, fruit and more. Shelves were emptier than I've ever seen them. Supermarkets had to introduce limits on certain products and people started getting up early to be there when the doors opened. Things are getting back to normal now but it's still very strange going shopping and having to queue 2 meters away from the person in front and avoid going near other shoppers.

Though a pandemic is never a good thing, there are a few positive things that have come out of this disaster. There is a strong sense of community, all of us bonded by our shared experience of the virus's consequences. Online there are lots of people offering support to vulnerable people, those who are self-isolating and anyone struggling with mental health. There is a renewed appreciation for the NHS. Across the UK people stand on their doorsteps to applaud NHS staff and other key workers. Even living on a hill in the countryside with no neighbours, we were able to hear the applause of people in the village on Thursday evenings. It gives a nice feeling of unification and it's good to hear people's gratitude for our health care system instead of the usual complaints. Another nice thing about this shared experience is that it has encouraged me to make more effort to stay in touch and reconnect with friends old and new. I think it will also help us to appreciate human contact and freedom of movement once the lockdown is lifted.

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