To document this unprecedented, historic time, Eagle Eye staffers and South community members will share their personal reflections.

After one week in quarantine, I’ve learned a few things. Mainly how to not go insane. FaceTime has been my savior throughout this week. I’ve been able to talk to my friends from a distance and still stay safe. I haven’t left my house in a week, which I thought would be great. Self isolation is every introvert’s dream. But it is slowly dissociating into a nightmare. Back on Friday when it was publicized that South would be closing for at least two weeks, I was happy. I thought this would be fun: I’d get to sleep in, do my homework on my own time, not have to worry about being late to class, and spend some needed time at home. That was the surface picture. I’m still able to sleep in and spend time at home. That part is okay, I guess. You’re always told to have things in moderation. Staying inside for a week and staring at the same people and walls for a prolonged amount of time is allowing me to see every terrible quality in my family. So far, we have deep cleaned the house and made a bunch of food. You love spending time with your family up to a certain point. Then they become annoying. My brother is home from college, so there are 5 adults in this house at once, bored out of their minds. Surprisingly, we haven’t talked all that much. I am an avid procrastinator, so I’ve been working on homework. My sister doesn’t have a lot to do, so she paints. My parents are usually working: my dad is a teacher so he’s working with his classes and my mom works from home on her computer. My brother has been doing online classes in his room.

What is going on is insane. We know from statistics that this is not the worst epidemic the world has faced, but it doesn’t mean we can’t take precaution. Hey, at least we can say that we lived through the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s like all the TikToks I’ve seen where creators pretend to be elderly and are talking to their grandchildren where one of them mentions the pandemic of 2020 and it cuts to the creator having PTSD war flashbacks of hoarding toilet paper and Bath & Body Works hand sanitizer. I don’t understand the hoarding of toilet paper. Yes, you will be quarantined to your house for a while, but you’re not in isolation: you’re in social distancing. You can go outside and keep your distance from strangers. Just wash your hands with warm water and soap and you should be fine! It’s better to wash your hands with soap than use hand sanitizer. Every bottle claims that it kills 99.9% of bacteria, but that 0.01% that doesn’t get killed are the bacteria that are strong enough to withstand the sanitizer. You are killing all of the weak germs and leaving the strongest that will hurt you the most. Soap and water is a surefire way to get all germs off your hands. By the way, the hoarding of products just leaves less for others, especially the elderly which is critical that they remain healthy. The world isn’t going to end, you’ll be fine and stop hoarding. Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk.

Love,
Morgan Barnes