Stay inside. It is that simple. And it is not that bad either. We have time to better ourselves by reading, working out, decluttering, and spending time with our families. Many of us are taking this situation as a way to be productive while preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Others, however, are still seeing their friends and driving to nonessential places, and therefore showing others that they do not care about those who are vulnerable in this time. Due to this blatant disregard for the health of others, I am frustrated. To see Snapchat stories of people spending time with those that they do not live with is disheartening and exasperating. It seems as though people my age are shameless in broadcasting to others their selfishness and ignorance, acting in a reckless manner nonchalantly. If people our age were the most vulnerable to the coronavirus, our parents and grandparents would be doing everything possible to protect us and keep us safe, but teenagers and young adults appear to not take into account that by interacting with others, they could be the reason someone’s grandparents or someone’s newborn baby dies.

I found myself the most vexxed, however, when I read of an incident that happened in my city of Rochester, where a man lied about the fact that he had tested positive for coronavirus so that he could be with his wife when he was giving birth to their child at Strong Hospital. Not only had he tested positive for the virus, but so had his wife and therefore, they may have spread the virus to pregnant women and infants, both groups that are at risk at this time. Once I heard of this, the hope that I had for people to put aside their inconsiderate ways dwindled significantly.

 I usually feel as though people who can affect the survival of others so drastically with little remorse are within a small group of twisted individuals, who are often criminals with psychopathic traits. But realizing that people I know, trust, love, or that I do not know but live a mere few miles for me can possess this incredulous sense of carelessness causes a feeling of stress within me that I have never experienced. When I find myself stressed, it is typically due to instances within my life that affect only me and a small group of those around me. Being in a globally catastrophic situation like a pandemic, however, causes my stress to carry a different, much heavier weight. Knowing that there is so little that I can do to stop these people is so anxiety-provoking because I know that lives will be lost despite reaching out to my friends who go outside and putting news articles on my Instagram story, because they have already acted selfishly enough to cost the lives of others, and possibly of their own lives.

Although I have never been so irate or exhausted from stress, I hope that after this pandemic passes, the consequences of people’s actions will be visible in how many lives are lost, and that people will realize how drastically their ignorance has affected others, prompting a change in how they think and act.

Sarina Simpson