The biggest thing I’ve learned this semester is that literally anything can happen. I had this weird realization that I feel like I should’ve had earlier, but it was that nothing is for certain and everything can change in the blink of an eye. Growing up in the US, I never experienced any real threat to me, my family, or the nation. The biggest threats I face are like “everyday” ones, like car accidents or getting robbed. But I’ve never been nervous that we are on the brink of war or that our country is going to be attacked. Who knows how close we came to war with Iran, if that was hyped up in the media or if it was downplayed, but I never really worried that my life would actually change even if we did go into war. I thought I live in the US. I am protected. Which was naive of me.
I have always felt secure and free living where I do and with my family, so this whole pandemic has really thrown me for a loop. I am not free to go do whatever I want which is something that I have never experienced before and it’s not even my parents. Like I’m not grounded, it’s literally laws that are making us all stay at home. It’s hard for me to even explain, but I have never been in a situation where my whole life has been changed in a matter of weeks– which I am very grateful for. It’s been about a month and half maybe and it still blows my mind sometimes that I was just in college two months ago and life was normal. There was a virus spreading through China, but I wasn’t thinking that I would be affected that much. Maybe a few cases would come to the US, but nothing like China. And here we are with the most coronavirus cases in the world, social distancing, and staying home as much as we can.
I’m not even sure if all of this makes sense, but I guess what I learned is that just because I live in America, land of the free, doesn’t mean that we are untouchable.
-Maddy Mengel
(this is a pic of my friends who I love and miss so much)
ENGL110 Spring 2020 11:15-12:05 
There’s a couple of things that I really like about your post. The first thing is that you started off your blog answering the question in the first sentence. I liked how you related it to the current even in which we are in right now. The second thing I enjoyed reading about is that you mentioned that no one has gone through something like this and not even your parents. “Like I’m not grounded, it’s literally laws that are making us all stay at home.” My parents have said some very similar things to me as well. And the last thing I liked is how you included your friends in the picture. It shows your compassionate side and that you truly care and miss them.
-Mya Mostrom
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I enjoyed how you said that throughout your whole life, you never really felt a threat because of the country we live in. I too can relate to this. There are some things that are just beyond our control. The last sentence of your first paragraph, “Which was naive of me,” really shows how such a change was so unexpected to all of us. I also liked your comparison of the laws making it feel as if you are grounded. Your last sentence really ties the knot. I think we all have realized that anything can happen now.
– Tommy Wilcox
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I agree with you especially when you pointed out how growing up in the US makes us feel a bit invincible like nothing could ever happen to us. Don’t worry, you’re not the only naive one. I think for all of this the virus has taught us to be a lot more grateful for the everyday life we live because it could be all ripped away in a matter of seconds. Good job at conveying this message in an interesting way.
-Morgan Holman
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Everything just changed so fast and so unexpectedly. I found it interesting how you emphasized you being from and living in the US has given you a strong sense of security over sal these years. It really just goes to show that anything can happen when we least expect it. The fact that there are mandates and restrictions being set in place by US governments is another thing that makes this feel weird, because like you said, you’ve always felt secure and free living. Our country has been based on having a strong sense of freedom so that could be part of why so many people aren’t taking this so we’ll
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I feel like time doesn’t exist anymore in my mind. After everything thats going on, if you think you have time to do things just because you’re young, you really don’t. I also agree with you when you talk about how living in the US makes you feel like your in some kind of protective bubble. Right now, the US is in the same situation as any other country and this is kind of making us humble. Anything that can harm another country can harm us and we need to recognize that more.
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