I’m sure this is many people’s first time dealing with the crisis like this but I feel like I’m being low- key homeschooled and this is definitely something very new to me. I usually love staying home all day but ever since I’m kind of “forced” to stay at home, I’ve been wanting to go outside almost every day. For example, I usually do fine staying at home to do my school work but for some reason, I can’t concentrate at home now and want to go to coffee shops to study and get things done. In psychology, there is a term called psychological reactance which is defined as a motivational arousal that occurs when people lose the freedom to control their behaviors. In other words, when a person feels that their choices are taken away or they are being limited by something or someone. I feel like I’m experiencing this arousal in a way or maybe there’s a sudden explosion of extrovertedness happening in me that’s causing this urge to go outside and hang out with people.
I’ve been relieving the thirst to go outside by helping out at my dad’s restaurant. I’ve been working at his restaurant as a waitress on the weekends for three years now. Since the restaurants are only allowed to take take-out orders now, I’ve been chilling at work because I don’t have to deal with serving food and cleaning up tables. Although I do enjoy going to work and seeing customers, simultaneously, I’m low-key paranoid about talking to people and being so close to them since coronavirus is so contagious and can be transmitted easily. In order to prevent transmission, I wash my hands every time after I touch people’s cards and before I touch my phone, chair, phone, etc. Along with that, I try to limit talking to the customers. With stimulus package, my family is hoping that it’ll help with my dad’s restaurant.
I took a fall semester off this school year and came back this semester after deciding that I’m going to keep my psychology major and just apply for ABSN program after I graduate. I’m so shocked that this crisis is affecting so many systems from unemployment to alternating education systems. At first, when I heard that all of the classes were going to transition remotely, I was happy that I didn’t have to drive to UNC in the mornings anymore. Now, I’m starting to miss walking around in campus and seeing student activities happening around the pit. Along with that, I feel like there are more things to keep up for all of my classes now and since everything is online and I’m not good with technologies, it’s a little bit hard for me to adapt to this new transition. I’m so glad I’m taking this class now because it helps me to understand the material better with what’s happening in the world now. I’m hoping that everything will only get better from now on and trying to stay positive and being thankful for the people working hard to alleviate the current situation.
Micro251 