During this time of unprecedented crisis, everyone around the world is undergoing a drastic change in the relationships they hold with their families, themselves, and the environment. Everyone’s experience has been different during this stay-at-home mandate and being in such conditions has helped me develop a new perspective on the world around me. As capitalism continues to dominate our lives, Covid-19 has further highlighted our class conflict, our environmental issues, and our failure of being prepared. It’s no mystery what mother nature is capable of, science says if we don’t take care of her, she will take care of us.

Once the outbreak of this disease began, there was not much people could do in terms of continuing their lives paycheck to paycheck. With tourism, small businesses, and art galleries – just to name a few – being impacted by this mandate, it burdens people all around the world. Something I learned about myself and humanity as a whole, is how resilient we are. This is a traumatic event, and for some, may even cause PTSD. While the middle and lower classes of the people live in uncertain and unfavorable conditions, the upper class may consider this situation as a ‘stay-cation’. I’ve learned about our resilience through all the hard work we’ve invested in our community. From juggling classes and work to simultaneously maintaining the stay-at-home mandate. The year 2020 has been a very rough year for us all, but I believe we’re all strong enough to bloom into something beautiful.

Once the awareness of the disease arrived to our elected officials, in a matter of weeks, action was taken; now imagine such a fast response for a green new deal. Precautionary measures around the world were taken. Shields have been placed, mandatory face coverings are required, and Covid-19 testing sites popped up.  Everything went up in a matter of weeks. It’s good to see such a quick response to emergency situations like this. But, we are also in the middle of an environmental crisis that continues to be ignored. Seeing such a fast response from the leaders around the world proves that they, we, are capable of creating an ecofriendly form of life. It’s upsetting to see that this initiative of protecting our lives is not expanded into taking care of our environment. I’ve learned that the leaders of the world do have the power to form a green new deal where capitalism and the environment work dynamically; they are just too greedy to do so.

Furthermore, as the demand for resources increased so did the labor. Many companies didn’t have an emergency plan available for their employees. As an XXXX employee, I’m proud to say that the company has had an emergency plan since 2008. As early as April, all partners were given hazard pay and plexiglass was built into each register. Although I have experienced the best-case scenario, many workers have not experienced this best-case scenario. People around the world continue to expose themselves with the hope of making ends meet. Something I noticed is that very few companies take an interest in the safety of their employees. Of course, this is a very rare situation in which the employer-employee relationship is put to the ultimate test. But, with the failure of being prepared, they have put the lives of many citizens at risk for Covid-19.

Never in a million years would I have thought that my first year of college would turn out like this. I believe it’s important that it happened the way it did to all of us. This unprecedented crisis calls for reform within our class conflict, our environmental issues, and the importance of being prepared.  We all have worked together to stop the spread, and we can all work together to make our world a better place.