So, it's the end of March. The entire world seems to be collapsing. Most schools and universities have transferred their academics to an online format. Concerts, sports, and major events have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. Grocery stores don't seem to always have a surplus of toilet paper. Many people are unsure of when their next paycheck will come. All anyone can talk about is the virus. Everyone seems to be generally on edge. We live in a fast-paced, vulnerable, and honestly terrifying world. People are scared.

All of that being said, there is still good in the world. It has become increasingly true, hard times can bring out the worst in a select few people, but they also bring about the genuine and good. Within the past few weeks, I have seen, firsthand, people rally together (virtually, of course) to raise money for struggling businesses and employees, host online events to keep morale high, and come together as a community more genuinely than they ever could in person. As someone who works in the service industry, it has been incredible to see how people are coming together in times like this. It would be easy for everyone to only focus on their issues, but instead people are stepping up to the plate to protect the integrity of their community.

A shared struggle, even one as daunting and unforgivable as COVID-19, could mean the beginning of a major shift in culture. It could result in us moving further from our inward-focused lifestyles and towards more homogeneous, community centered ways of life. This pandemic, as dangerous as it is, could be presenting us with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reevaluate not only who we are as individuals, but who we are as a community. Instead of considering the impact of our actions on only ourselves and those we care about, this pandemic is teaching us to think bigger. Now, every move we make could have consequences for dozens, if not hundreds, of other people. It's our responsibility to ourselves, to each other, and to our future to behave in conscientious ways- social distancing, supporting local businesses, and checking in on at-risk friends and family.

As we've seen, life is unpredictable. Many people are grieving losses- lost time, lost individuals, lost opportunities. Not everything is under our control, but all we can do is try and focus on what is. As mentioned, we've all been affected by this pandemic, so why not be there for one another as much as we can. Relying on our community during troubled times will ultimately result in stronger trust in one another. So, do your online Spanish I at 8:00 AM (okay, maybe more like 9:45), group face-time your best friends (even if the connection is broken and all you can seem to do is talk over one another), thank the important people in your life (give them a hug, or just a nice elbow bump), and if you haven't absorbed anything else- wash your hands!