December 2023, I got COVID for the first time ever. I was sick for a full week, fever, sore throat, headache, lost taste buds. I thought how I managed to get COVID now but not during the entire height of the pandemic. It reminded me that although COVID is not as much as a concern as it first was in 2020 when it hit the US, it is still in fact live and present.
When COVID first hit New York, I remember just hearing a bunch of rumors about it. Misinformed information about how it originated, how it is spread and how to prevent it. It was all so sudden and alarming. However, I never thought much into it because it was not affecting me at the time. It wasn’t until February 2020 where the pandemic really started to navigate my life. St. John’s University was finishing the Spring semester online. That meant all my classes that were supposed to be in person until May were now online. In all honesty, at first, I was excited because commuting to school every day in peak traffic was just not something I looked forward to. Online learning was a new experience for me that I did not enjoy. Yes, it did give me the ability to have extra free time and learn out of the comfort of my home. However, often I found myself lying in bed “listening” to my lectures. I would set an alarm for when class ended because I would usually fall asleep during class. Then when test day would come, I would find the tests extremely difficult, even when they were open book. I was not properly learning due to the fact I could not discipline myself the way I did when I was physically at school. Long story short, when we were able to return to school, I did not take for granted the work ethic and discipline I have when I physically go to school.
As for my work experience during the pandemic, I started working way more than I should have. Since I had more time due to school being online, I decided to make as much money as I possibly can. I was working at Boston Market, FedEx Ground and Walgreens all at once. All three jobs were considered “essential workers”, essential workers were said to be appreciated and respected during these hard times. Every shift of every job, I felt overworked, underappreciated, and underpaid. At Boston Market, I would work long shifts with no breaks, getting yelled at by customers and just be all sweaty and smelling of chicken. As for Walgreens, those shifts were just as long and stressful. The risk of always being exposed to COVID as patient’s would think if they had COVID they can get the COVID shot to “cure” them. Always getting yelled at for not having certain products in stock like hand sanitizer and Vitamin C. Lastly at FedEx, I would work overnight all the way to noon. 12 hours of extremely labor-intensive work. Processing over 30,000 boxes with limited staff. Overall, the work experience during COVID was not pleasant at all. It made me realize that no matter the financial reward of all the work you do will not be satisfactory when you are always mentally drained.
December 2023, I got COVID for the first time ever. I was sick for a full week, fever, sore throat, headache, lost taste buds. I thought how I managed to get COVID now but not during the entire height of the pandemic. It reminded me that although COVID is not as much as a concern as it first was in 2020 when it hit the US, it is still in fact live and present.
When COVID first hit New York, I remember just hearing a bunch of rumors about it. Misinformed information about how it originated, how it is spread and how to prevent it. It was all so sudden and alarming. However, I never thought much into it because it was not affecting me at the time. It wasn’t until February 2020 where the pandemic really started to navigate my life. St. John’s University was finishing the Spring semester online. That meant all my classes that were supposed to be in person until May were now online. In all honesty, at first, I was excited because commuting to school every day in peak traffic was just not something I looked forward to. Online learning was a new experience for me that I did not enjoy. Yes, it did give me the ability to have extra free time and learn out of the comfort of my home. However, often I found myself lying in bed “listening” to my lectures. I would set an alarm for when class ended because I would usually fall asleep during class. Then when test day would come, I would find the tests extremely difficult, even when they were open book. I was not properly learning due to the fact I could not discipline myself the way I did when I was physically at school. Long story short, when we were able to return to school, I did not take for granted the work ethic and discipline I have when I physically go to school.
As for my work experience during the pandemic, I started working way more than I should have. Since I had more time due to school being online, I decided to make as much money as I possibly can. I was working at Boston Market, FedEx Ground and Walgreens all at once. All three jobs were considered “essential workers”, essential workers were said to be appreciated and respected during these hard times. Every shift of every job, I felt overworked, underappreciated, and underpaid. At Boston Market, I would work long shifts with no breaks, getting yelled at by customers and just be all sweaty and smelling of chicken. As for Walgreens, those shifts were just as long and stressful. The risk of always being exposed to COVID as patient’s would think if they had COVID they can get the COVID shot to “cure” them. Always getting yelled at for not having certain products in stock like hand sanitizer and Vitamin C. Lastly at FedEx, I would work overnight all the way to noon. 12 hours of extremely labor-intensive work. Processing over 30,000 boxes with limited staff. Overall, the work experience during COVID was not pleasant at all. It made me realize that no matter the financial reward of all the work you do will not be satisfactory when you are always mentally drained.