COVID-19: Impact on Me and My Community

by Monique Sager

I’m going to write about the silver lining of Covid-19, and that is the new sense of connectedness I have with my friends and family. Before this, I was busy every moment of every day (or so it felt) in the hospital. If I had a free hour, I spent it with my boyfriend or taking time to watch a show I loved. I hadn’t spoken to some of my closest friends from high school, college, or graduate school in months, even years. That was how I thought it had to go. Since this quarantine, I’ve had game nights with friends all over the world, have spoken to childhood friends how living in China and India, and have met people’s friends and spouses virtually through facetime. I have never felt so connected with my friends, and I’m aware that what made this possible was a tragedy. In a sense, amidst all this dying, I guess I realized just how valuable my friends are to me, how much I wanted to connect with them again. I hope that after this ends, we can still retain that newfound connection we found during quarantine.