COVID-19 has affected the daily lives of everyone across the country. At SNU specifically, there have been many changes made to keep the students and faculty safe. These changes include wearing masks in all indoor settings, having the capability to do virtual classes, the way SNU Dining and the 405 are conducted, practicing social distancing, the academic calendar changes, and many more. Although these changes have greatly helped SNU keep the number of COVID-19 cases down, some of our students were still affected.
As we know, COVID-19 affects every person differently, and it is very interesting to hear about their own personal stories. SNU senior Brooklyn Sparkman tested positive for COVID-19 on January 4th, 2020, and believes that she got it from one of her customers from work. When asked about her experience she says, “I only had symptoms for one day, the only one being body aches. It felt like I got hit by a bus the whole day. I truly believed that if I got COVID I was going to have to go to the hospital because I have severe asthma. By the grace of God, my asthma was not affected.” We are grateful that Brooklyn ended up being okay.
SNU freshman Jayleigh Totten had a bit of a different experience with COVID-19. She tested positive for the virus on September 16th, 2020. She believes she got the virus from one of her old softball teammates back home. When asked about her experience she says, “I couldn’t taste or smell for about a month, and still can barely smell. I also had trouble breathing, nausea, headaches, chills, body aches, fatigue, and a cough. I thought the virus was a fluke until I had it and now I know it actually can kill people.” Jayleigh, unfortunately, had a more extreme case of the virus, but is doing great now!
As we see in these two stories, COVID-19 affects everyone differently. Brooklyn had severe asthma and yet was not as affected as Jayleigh was. With the vaccine now out and being given to a large number of people, hopefully, the numbers will drop significantly. We all want life to go back to normal and to not have to deal with all of the virus-related worries. We as a community have grown stronger together through these hard times, and we pray for all the people still being affected, that they will have good health and that they know God is by their side.