I work in the online shopping department of a major supermarket chain. Many of my coworkers in my department took this job as merely a supplement to their current career, as a high school student looking to make a few extra bucks or, like me, as a temporary position post-graduation in order to help pay off my student loans while looking for a job.

What none of us expected, however, was to be thrust into a potentially dangerous environment as we provide a vital service to our community while putting our lives at risk every day.

To those who are elderly, disabled, high-risk or live with those who are high-risk, I am honored to be serving you and help make your lives a little bit safer.

To those who are perfectly able-bodied and utilize our services as merely an extra precaution, I am also happy to be helping you in times of crisis.

But please, realize that in doing so I am placing your life and your families' lives at a greater value than my own.

With that in mind, I ask for one thing in return: kindness. Do not belittle me for not knowing the location of an item. Toilet paper is still a rarity, and I cannot be exactly sure when our next shipment will come in.

Know that any limits and restrictions on certain items, while frustrating, are there to ensure the well-being of ALL customers, not just you. And yes, having only one available store entrance might seem like a major inconvenience, but it's the only way to accurately track and limit the amount of customers entering the store at once, providing a safer environment for all people involved.

While some particularly irate customers have argued that we are "lucky" to have a job at all, know that I live with my 89-year-old grandfather, who is at an extremely high risk for contracting the virus, and I question every day whether or not I am making the right decision to continue coming to work.

I am putting his and my health in jeopardy every day as I come in contact with hundreds of people while filling orders so that you don't have to. In such times of crisis and uncertainty, I don't believe that anyone of any background or financial status can truly be considered lucky.

One day last week, after having come in contact with a few customers who had sneezed and coughed in my direction, I began experiencing shortness of breath and feared the worst, only to later reason that it was my anxiety towards the possibility of contracting the virus that had made it difficult to breathe.

Throughout the past few weeks, I have seen my co-workers suffer through similar experiences as well.

I never expected to live in fear of going to work every day, but what I've come to realize is that the world thrives on opposites. The sick can only be healed by the healthy. Air pollution, which once clouded our world, has diminished in our absence.

The anger and fear that have now become commonplace as the world adapts to our new normal, can only be extinguished by love and concern.

COVID-19 has taken more from us than anyone could have expected. Most people, whether it is food or PPE or money, do not have a lot to give. But, what we all still have in abundance is the capacity for compassion. Now especially, we all just need a little bit of love.

Some of the best days I have had at work are the ones where customers have left comments for me such as, "Thank you for all that you do!" or "Know that you are appreciated!"

Food is such a vital part of our existence that we never really take the time to think about the steps it takes to get it so readily available to us. And although you may feel stressed and worried when we are out of something you desperately need, know that we are constantly putting ourselves at risk, essentially ignoring social distancing policies every day in order to get it back on the shelves for you as quickly as possible.

We are all afraid.

We are all unprepared.

We are all uncertain.

But, we are all human, and we are all suffering through an extraordinarily difficult time together. It's important to not let this virus divide us.

As grocery workers, we are neither below you nor above you. We're all walking blindly through the impacts of this pandemic doing our best to perform our daily tasks as normally and efficiently as possible.

But your anger and fear only hinders us, when what we really need - what the world needs - is support, strength and hope.

When I graduated college, I knew that I wanted to impact the world in some way. Although I never expected this to be the path I took, I am proud to say that the work that I do, however small, will help countless lives every day as we navigate blindly through these unprecedented times.