It is no secret that covid-19 is spreading around the world, with the US expanding in cases every day. As of right now, 1 pm on March 25, there are over 60,000 confirmed cases, over 800 deaths, and over 300 recovered, but the numbers are rapidly growing. In Connecticut, there are 618 cases, with only three of those being in South Windsor, yet the term only seems underwhelming, when the cases could, and probably will, grow very rapidly. With this in mind, everyone has undoubtedly seen the warnings and why we need to stay inside, but there are reasons as to why people should really listen.

Let me start off by saying that the argument of “we’re young so it doesn’t affect us” is ignorant and hypocritical and should not even be an argument. First of all, imagine if the virus only infected younger people, and it was the elderly who were saying that. There would be riots, so what gives us the right to say that? According to Senior, Kylie Robinshaw, “This is the same reasoning older people use when talking about climate change – it’s selfish to ignore the well beings of other people. There’s also plenty of people in the medical field who are affected by the corona virus as well. The more people who go out, the more hours these people have to put into helping fight the virus. Overall, it’s just really selfish to put your own wants to go outside over other people’s health.” Also, to even allude to the idea that people who are in older generations than us have lives that aren’t worth saving, is so disrespectful and shouldn’t be tolerated. To point out another invalidation about this argument is that the corona virus does affect us, and there have been countless posts over social media proving this. It is true that physically, not a lot of young adults, teenagers, or children are being infected or are dying because of it, as shown in recent studies, but social wise we are being affected. Countless schools across the country have been shut down through April and others are being closed until this Fall. Understandably, some people are excited by this prospect of not having school, but for others, school is where they get to see their friends, and for some, it is their source of food and connection. 

In terms of the social media posts that were brought up, there’s a difference between being emotionally upset, and being educationally and empathetically active. It is not news to the student body that sports and school activities have already been cancelled, but a lot of people are very worried about whether prom and graduation will be cancelled as well. As a senior, I completely understand why people would be upset about these things, because they are seen as a right of passage in our culture, but these events should not be our main concern. Our main concern should be figuring out ways to prevent the virus from spreading, since we can be carriers of the virus. According to Robinshaw, “it’s important to stay inside because the corona virus spreads so much faster when people are around each other, just like any other sickness. A lot of people our age don’t realize this, or maybe just ignore it, which can be just as harmful to other people who are more likely to get infected by the virus in the end.”

To get to my main point, don’t be selfish. I understand, we all miss our friends and are worried about school and our own personal lives, but don’t be ignorant and ignore warnings that are instructed for a reason. I don’t want to downgrade or make it seem like teenagers’ emotions are invalid, because they aren’t, but don’t be invalidating others in the process. On this point, Robinshaw says, “on social media, I’ve seen posts and videos about people who have lost friends and family because of the virus, which is devastating because, again, they could be prevented if people just chose to stay inside. The virus is also affecting the mental health of a lot of people, unfortunately, as many are finding that social isolation can be exhausting and lonely.” If you are finding yourself to be lonely or bored, call or Facetime someone. We live in an age of technology that makes it available for us to do so. Or, find ways to entertain yourself. We all always complain about never having time for things, well now you do, so finally do them. 

To reiterate my point a little bit and connect with some of you, I completely understand your frustrations and your anxieties. I’m a senior, and am really worried about not having a graduation ceremony because it’s something that I’ve looked forward to my whole life. But more importantly, I’m worried about my family. My grandmother has Parkinson’s disease and my cousin is an EMT, both of which are extremely susceptible to coronavirus. I also have family littered across New Jersey, which has over 3,000 cases right now, as well as in Italy, which is on lock down. The best thing that I can do for family, and you can do for yours, is to stay inside and listen to the safety instructions, so that hopefully, we can all get through this together.