Quarantine on Oahu started as early as March 13, our last "normal" day. Many students attended school that day but soon found out they wouldn't be returning to school in two weeks after spring break. Many were excited and saw this as a blessing, which quickly became an early warning of what was ahead.
My family was especially lucky because both of my parents were able to work from home. Days and days on end, only leaving to do "essential business." The State of Hawaii declared this as doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, and other social services.
Honestly, it was exhilarating at first. Waking up later, attending online zoom classes in my pajamas, and not having to worry about a lot of extracurricular activities. I had so much extra time to pick up hobbies that I had never tried before and watch Netflix shows that I had put off.
But as time went on, and we got to the one month mark, two-month mark, it got exhausting and repetitive. Every day, waking up to do the exact same thing. The beaches, malls, restaurants were all closed. Over the course of the shutdown, I had many friends who were in complete disregard of the orders and would continue to go out without masks and post their activities on social media.
Would we be able to have a normal summer? What will happen if we are still in quarantine?
Luckily, the cases began to decrease and by June, businesses were opening back up and it looked like everything was going back to normal. I felt comfortable leaving the house to meet small groups of friends and finally catch up after two months of isolation. The question still plagued my mind of those friends that kept living their life as if the pandemic did not exist.
The cases started rising again in July and still in August. The state has debated another shutdown and is very close to issuing another proclamation.
Still, I see many people going about their lives unphased. Will this current plan to combat the pandemic work if we are not all working together to solve it? To me, it doesn't seem fair that some people are allowed to ignore the mayor's orders and the call for protection of public health.
Every day, I see new posts on social media about influencers moving to Hawaii to live their quarantine in "paradise." This is honestly very alarming because travel is so restricted, and Hawaii is going through our own economic crisis. We have so many other issues that many newcomers don't often see.
As social media became an increasing part of my day, one question plagued me: Why do I have to stay home and obey the orders when others seem to have no regard?
I still have not found a good answer for this besides the fact that I choose not to put myself in risky situations and environments. I understand that many teenagers and young adults feel that they are invincible and they will not let a pandemic ruin their summer plans.
I will continue to do everything I can to keep my family safe and to go about my life in the safest way possible, but I urge everyone to do the same. This problem will not go away until we all sacrifice something, a small something, for the sake of public health and safety.
