We all miss the times where we could enjoy our summer to the fullest by going swimming, traveling, hanging out with family and friends, and going to the places we love mask-free. The global pandemic made the summer of 2020 a lot less fun and lonely due to quarantine. After a little over a year, we are finally starting to shift back to normal due to the vaccinations drastically decreasing the COVID-19 cases. The question is whether or not we will get to have our upcoming summer 2021 the way we hope it to be.
Professor Jim Smith is very hopeful for this summer and has received both of his COVID vaccinations. He enjoys traveling and hopes to be able to do that again safely this summer. Although he is hopeful, he still has some worries and says, “I feel pretty comfortable with things returning to normal, but I hope we’ll remain in a mode where we can pivot back if needed. It’s hard to predict when we’ll achieve herd immunity, and in the meantime, it’s possible for new mutations to cause additional issues.”
SNU sophomore Emma Knightengale also has high hopes for summer 2021. She’s excited to have the chance to do things that she did before the pandemic and says, “Something that I am looking forward to is being able to be around my whole family without having to worry about them being sick.” I think we can all attest to that statement. Having big family gatherings for holidays and hangouts is something we all cherish, and not having to worry about giving your high-risk family members the virus is going to be a blessing.
No one can predict exactly what this summer is going to look like, but with the rate we are going since the vaccinations, we might actually get to have a normal summer. As Professor Smith said, we have to have the mindset to pivot back if we need to. That is not ideal, but if we are going to completely get rid of COVID, we have to be prepared to adjust accordingly. Summer is just about a month away now so keep pushing through this semester, because summer 2021 is looking bright. We give all of our glory to God for giving us the strength to be where we are at today.