UNITED STATES─I know I’m not the only person wondering what will happen with our country once this pandemic ends. One thing that is certain is that our country will never be the same again people. I don’t think I will ever shake another hand as long as I live. The same echoes for giving complete strangers hugs. We just don’t know if it’s safe to do. I mean we know the country will indeed reopen and with that said, people will want to keep a distance and I think just as a precaution people will have their guard up more now than ever.
There has already been talk that people plan to continue wearing masks over their face way after this pandemic ends and I think that holds true, probably the rest of 2020, maybe longer. I would say this especially holds true for those who contracted COVID-19 and survived and the same could be said for those who don’t want to catch it.
My biggest fear is once things start to open back up we’re going to have a mad rush of utter chaos. I mean I cannot wait, and I mean cannot wait to go out to a restaurant, but in the back of my mind I realize everyone else is going to have the same mentality and that flood of a crowd cannot be good. We’re going to see such things at the bars, casinos, sporting events, the mall, should I continue listing places to go?
For most Americans we have been locked (not literally) in our homes for at least 6 weeks and its likely to extend for a few more weeks, at least into the middle of May at the earliest. I just don’t see things getting back to normal before then; it’s too risky. The one thing we don’t want is to open the business and the world back up to only see a major spike in Coronavirus cases that totally defeats the purpose of what we’ve been forced to do for the past few months.
I know one thing that many people I’ve talked to have completely shifted to doing: saving money. Yes, by now many Americans have gotten their stimulus check and we’ll talk more about that later people in my next column, but saving is the hot item people. Everyone I know talking about having that rainy day fund as a direct result of this crisis. Going 1 week without a paycheck is one thing, but can you imagine going a month, 6 weeks, 2 months, 6 months without steady income.
Yes, it’s darn scary, unexpected and just adds another layer of stress for most Americans that is something we’d rather not face. They always say it’s smart to have at least 3 months of your expenses paid in case something like this ever transpires. Its sound advice, but so many of us never follow thru or ensuring that happens. I mean the notion of purchasing things online has been a blur for me. I have this fear of will I get the package that I order and if so how long will it take because the number of delays is unbelievable.
I ordered an item 2 weeks ago and still have yet to receive confirmation the item has been shipped, yet my card was already charged. A call is being made this week to cancel the order, if I don’t have an update soon. I mean the least a retailer can do is provide some level of communication as to what is going on. Life is going to change for many of us when this is all over, and I feel the change is going to be for the better people and in the long run this pandemic has united us, made us more compassionate, more loving and smarter about what we do and how we do it.
Written By Zoe Mitchell
