University of Oregon students have no choice but to endure one of the most daunting challenges imaginable each year — a winter in Eugene. Months of constant rain, cold and minimal daylight are tolerable when you have a warmer spring term to look forward to. This year, a global pandemic has taken away our beloved term, and it has stolen all normalcy from the world.
During finals week and spring break, I was home with my family, where I found it easy to quarantine and only leave the confines of my home for essential errands. The restrictions created by my family and the federal government overshadowed my temptation to break social isolation.
Now, I am back in Eugene where the isolation has been much more challenging than it was at home. Although many of my friends did not return for spring term, several of them are still living in Eugene. As each day passes, my urge to abandon isolation grows stronger, especially when I have no one around to judge me or tell me that I cannot leave the house without valid reason.
In these trying times, everyone must adhere to distancing/isolation guidelines, and this especially applies to younger generations. Assuming that they are at a lower risk of dying from the virus, some of my peers have thrown caution to the wind and carried on living their normal lives. When the majority of the country is taking isolation seriously, but a minority of the population is not, the collective actions of the majority become relatively meaningless.
Having to say no to your friends, when spending time with them would alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation, is one of the hardest things to do. But saying no is the only way to end this crisis in the near future. Everyone makes sacrifices, and the least young people like myself can do is avoid unnecessary in-person hangouts. No one should be judged for taking this virus seriously.
Hold yourself and people you know accountable. Pretty much everything happening in the world right now is a brand-new type of awful, but by saying no to temptation, it can be slightly less awful. Or, at least, awful for a shorter period of time.