Another person talking about Coronavirus...

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It seems to be the only thing that anyone can talk about now - the global pandemic known as COVID-19 or a type of Coronavirus. As a Sociology student, it is interesting to get a glimpse of this virus catalysing shifts within the social structures drastically, holding a microscope over what could have happened over decades, but has happened in only months. There is absolutely no denying that it's an unsettling time as pretty much no one on earth knows how it has come to this or what will continue to happen (despite whatever psychic powers Donald Trump thinks he has), thus arousing much fear in many businesses and families all quarantined in their households. However, as I took a stroll in the park with my mum on Saturday - which, for any members of the government reading this, I have stopped altogether now - my eyes were opened to the opportunities that we should be grateful for during this time.

As a disclaimer, I understand (unlike Vanessa Hudgens obviously, smh) that this is an absolutely devastating time causing catastrophic consequences and, quite frankly, chaos in most parts of the world. Therefore, I'd never intentionally glorify or take anything away from this virus being something that should be taken seriously and put into perspective how many lives have been taken in such a short space of time. I continuously applaud the NHS and supermarket staff for their time, effort and risking their lives to provide us with food on shelves and heath care for those who have unfortunately contracted the disease.

But in my privileged situation, I wanted to discuss the perks of having to isolate indefinitely. First and foremost, it's more noticeable for me as a uni student that there is no suCH THING AS FOMO when no one can go out! In this generation, I feel as though everyone has felt FOMO (Fear of missing out) at some point, to some extent. The feeling when you've stayed in to finish an essay, or nurse a cold, or put the kids to bed and there are pictures all over social media of friends, colleagues and acquaintances out in clubs, pubs, restaurants, you name it, and queue the feeling of wanting to be there. Within the last few months, although screen time activity has drastically risen, many individuals feel far more content with disconnecting to put their undivided attention towards a task at hand without the niggling sensation that something is happening that they are unaware about. Personally, practicing this disconnection, even for just a few hours more than usual a day, is helping me relearn focus and understand that the cliché (and the amount of times I've read this is ridiculous) is true - there is so much happening in my present that I miss sometimes when I'm too busy concentrating on what I'm missing.

Also, we're giving our beautiful earth a well deserved rest. BBC News reported on the carbon monoxide levels stating, "[t]raffic levels in the city were estimated to be down 35% compared with a year ago. Emissions of carbon monoxide, mainly due to cars and trucks, have fallen by around 50% for a couple of days this week according to researchers at Columbia University". While the urgency of locking down borders and working from home may be inconvenient to many individuals who have family abroad, essential business travels or manual work, air pollution is reduced as airplanes no longer depart, offices are no longer heated and a plethora of shops, restaurants and pubs aren't powered.

This time also mirrors a prolonged Christmas to some extent, which is deemed by many "the most wonderful time of the year", with families rejoining to end up replacing their boredom through creativity, games and conversation. As I was walking through the park on Saturday, I was taken aback to see an overwhelming number of families (albeit rebelliously) spending time soaking up the sun with picnics and bike rides, and while I'm not promoting any style of social gathering, it seems as though people are taking advantage of this unfortunate time to reconnect with loved ones, whilst being forced to disconnect from their work and busy lifestyles. Alongside this, although the Prime Minister specified that individuals should exercise by only one means each day - be it walking, cycling, running etc. - this disease has seen a spike in at-home workouts, from Joe Wicks' internationally successful #PEwithJoe (trending at first on Twitter nationally on Monday) to the likes of Davina McCall and Holly Dolke reducing prices on their fitness plans, if not making them free for the limited estimated time that we will be ensured to stay at home.

I read recently in Caroline Gray's The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary, (check this out for my review) that 'boredom births inspiration' and it rings true in this period. Even watching Stacey Solomon's (questionable person to include here, I know) Instagram story, I was struck by how they'd imaginatively created an entirely new way of playing noughts and crosses due entirely to boredom. The #selfisolationgames became a trend too, with many sharing games, crafts and creativities they'd come up with to inspire other people to do the same. However, most importantly amongst all the chaos and anxiety of the unknown in this time, I have enjoyed watching communities help each other out and bond over a deadly virus. I started my article saying that COVID-19 is playing on everyone's minds and tongues, and rightly so, since even SARS and MERS didn't acquire the same death toll as this Coronavirus has, but it has also brought our race closer together to establish the meaning of working together to beat this pandemic.

It is, without a doubt, possibly one of the strangest periods that we'll experience in our life time and I often stop to think how they'll write about it in textbooks in a centuries time (try it, it's really funny!) but as our Prime Minister said, I have no doubt we'll get through it and be much more grateful for the small things when we do.