Parties during COVID

 I’ve heard of Covid parties people had back in quarantine that people would go to and see if they would get the virus. These usually resulted in all of the attendees testing positive. People used to host these for chicken. Pox, but just so their kids could get “immune” to chicken pox. Not very smart. Many college kids have been partying as well. Not for purposes of catching covid, but because they really don’t want to be in college and not go out. It is still very unsafe. Police have been trying to crack down as much as they can,  but at UK especially it is really hard because the campus is so big. 

Friends have covid

 Recently a few of my close friends at UK tested positive for COVID. I personally do not have any symptoms, but I am getting tested soon. My other friend that we hang out with a lot tested as well, but she was negative. We are thinking she must have antibodies, and I am thinking I have antibodies as well. 

Back in the beginning of March I got really sick, I had a high fever and could not breath well. This was before COVID had even hit Kentucky, statistically at least. But, I went to urgent care and got tested for flu and strep and they both came back negative. There has also been a few times where I have been around people that have been exposed and I did not get the virus. 

I will update you guys after I get my test and see if I am positive and symptomatic, or I still have antibodies from March. 

Where do I get information about the pandemic?

     Personally, I have had a really hard time trusting any information about the pandemic. Since people in America seem to try and make everything so political, I feel really conflicted with the information I hear about the pandemic. I personally side more with democratic views, but I also contradicted myself a few times with what the stereotypical democratic views related to the virus were. There are also a lot of conspiracies about the pandemic that are honestly very believable with the “proof” they provide. I spend a lot of time on the social media platform, TikTok, and I have gotten a lot of my information from there including the majority of the conspiracy theories. 

Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories

    When there was a national quarantine, I got most of my trust worthy information from my governor, Andy Beshear. He would give daily updates at 5pm for a while. They were actually very comforting and allowed me to have knowledge about the pandemic without being extremely stressed about it. I was really getting so anxious because I would read every little bit of information that came up on Snapchat, instagram, and TikTok and my mom would get so mad at me because I was reading info that was very potentially invalid. That’s why after a while I would only occasionally watch the updates from the governor because my anxiety was getting out of hand. 

Will UK shut down before the semester is over?

 Recently, UK presented re-testing students in fraternities and sororities because they had 2% higher amounts of cases than the rest of the University. I rushed and just joined a sorority and I can see why their numbers are so high. There’s about 60+ girls living in each sorority house so I am sure it is hard to keep things under control there. As a university I feel like the numbers are actually starting to go up. I feel like recently I have actually known more than a few people come down with the virus and have to self isolate. It would make sense because the cases in Kentucky in general are going up a lot as well. 

Recent graph of cases in Kentucky

    As of now, I don’t see the university closing before the end of the semester. I think UK has done well at contact tracing and following health guidelines. I think they also have a good system with moving students out who have the virus to prevent more spread. The University is very big, so it will probably take a little longer for us to reach a high percentage of cases in the campus community. I do see that a few more classes may have to go online, but the ones that are in person now are safe to stay in person I believe.  

About Me!

 About Me!

    First of all, I’ll start by sharing my name. I am Hillary Johnson. I‘m a freshman at the University of Kentucky. Navigating this pandemic as new adult is kind of scary. I am taking charge of the choices I make for myself to ensure the safety of myself and others. Now, I don’t have to follow the rules of my parents regarding the pandemic and anything else. But, to me, it is still important to take precautions because this virus is a serious deal. I will still say though, in my experience the effects of the virus have been minute regarding the health of me and my family. 

    We took pretty severe precaution near the beginning of the national quarantine, but loosened up a bit around early June. My family became exhausted of our routine and staying inside. We decided to take a risk and go to Topsail Island North Carolina for a weeks getaway at the beach. It seemed necessary. We searched for so long to find somewhere that wasn’t going to be crowded and somewhere that would have beach access from a beach house so that we wouldn’t have to be around so many people at a hotel. In my family, my anxiety about the pandemic was probably the worst. After going to the beach and having slight contact with others, stepping out of the bubble of my home and neighborhood walking trails, and coming home with no virus in my family or the friend who came with me, my anxieties started to subsided. I thought, the virus is serious, but will basic health precautions such as hand washing including an extent of social distancing and mask wearing do the trick? A little after I returned from the beach, I also started my lifeguard job back up when the neighborhood pools opened back up in Lexington, Kentucky (where I am from) in early July. There were certain safety measures taken, but they did not compare to the precautions I had been taking at home previously.  There were a several people outside of my circle that I came in contact with without a mask, but still, I got tested before I moved in at UK and I was not positive for the virus. 

    To my family it was really important to stay safe during this time. We were hearing everywhere that the virus affects POC more negatively. As a biracial person, that worried me. I worried about myself, my brother, and my dad who is Black. I also still worried about my mom who is white because she does have underlying health conditions. Of course, then I worried about my extended family as well. Another thing that is also important to us is not living in fear and trusting in our faith. It was and still is hard to balance these two ideas. The pandemic has also affected my immediate and some extended family in ways not related to health. I would say my family is in the middle-low middle class economically. My dad’s barber shop business was closed for a long period of time and his hours at his other job were cut short. Thankfully my mom’s job allowed her to work completely from home, but it was really hard to lose half of our household income for at least a few months. We still were able to have things we needed, but things we wanted had to be thought about. Watching the news and everything did allow me to see that my family and I have it much better than many others during this time. No one in the family that I used to see frequently before all of this happened has had COVID or at least hasn’t become ill with it. I do know of a few friends that have it or have had it, but they have all powered through with mild symptoms. To say the least, I really can’t wait for this virus to stop having such a large impact in everyone’s lives, but right now it is still very important that we all do our part in protected ourselves and those around us.