Imagine What the Virus Could Be Like in 100 Years If We Don’t Take It Seriously.” An Australian in Van Nuys.

Faces of Quarantine, One Virus Many Faces: Chloe Christiansen

I’m feeling good.
There are days when I feel a little more emotional than I would typically be from being inside all the time, but overall I feel good. I have so much more time to complete tasks, so it makes me feel calm. Now that I don’t have to sit in traffic for two hours a day, I have way more time to do things that I love! I am starting to exercise again, and I am not super tired when I get home. My biggest concern would be not being able to work in person; if I can’t work in person on-campus, then my income is limited. But I do stay positive by meditating and make a conscious effort to celebrate the good things that have come out of this situation.

I think we are doing ok here in LA. But I’ve noticed on my weekly trips to the grocery store over the past two weeks, that people seem to be ignoring the stay at home orders. For the size of LA county, we did well to stay at home in the beginning, but now people are coming out. I am from Australia. My family there had very low key restrictions compared to here and still complained, so my message to them was to be more empathetic towards people living in more densely populated areas.

I think people are playing it down a lot, even when they have friends or family members that work in the medical field and tell them first-hand what they are seeing, also, people comparing the virus to the flu because people still die from the flu. If years later the flu is still a problem, imagine what the virus could be like in 100 years.

One thing I learned is that sitting in LA traffic was a massive cause of stress for me. When things go back to normal, I should try to avoid it by taking the train or living closer to work and school. I live in Van Nuys, and since the shutdown, the streets have become much quieter without everyone driving around. The air seems cleaner.

We really can’t play the blame game, but many continue to blame one group of people. I do believe that some people could be more cautious, but we share this world, and so we are in it together.

I am not necessarily anxious about things going back to normal. It would be nice to walk trails and maybe see more people, but studying online has been better than in person for me personally. I think generally most people will return to life the way it was before the pandemic, in terms of how much they see their family, etc. But maybe for a little while, they will enjoy the small, more important things in life, things like more animals and less pollution! After this is over, I think people will still wear masks even long after the virus is under control. During the regular cold and flu seasons from now on, I think people will wear masks.

The funniest story that I will tell my grandkids would be the fact that we had a toilet paper shortage!