COVID Cuisine

 

    COVID-19 obviously has a huge impact on heath habits of all kinds. It affects physical, mental, as well as emotional health. As our normal lives shut down, so do our typical eating habits. Personally, I was very active before the lockdown. I grew up as a cheerleader, so my diet and exercise routine was very strict. That all was altered as gyms shut down, and grocery stores went empty. At first, I thought the shut down was a good thing. Maybe I could live a normal life, eat what I wanted, and worked out when it was convenient for me. Unfortunately, that mindset did not do me well. After literally a week, I became a couch potato, not wanting to be in any routine at all. I was bored, sad, and had given up hope that life would go back to normal. This is the mindset of several people who had been basically house bound for three months. 

    Back to the healthy habits, the diet aspect of my life had for sure been abolished. My family began to eat out all the time just to take a fifteen minute trip out of the house. This became a regular event, and what I looked forward to most days. Unfortunately, this lead me to consume what I knew was not appropriate for my body. I didn’t think much of it at first because all I could think was how awesome it was that I could eat whatever I wanted without getting sick before or after a workout. Again, this became a routine mindset leading me to never getting back on track with what my eating habits were. 

    When everything started to reopen, I had lost all motivation to get back to where I was. I never wanted to leave the house or even get up off my couch. I kept telling myself that I would do better tomorrow. Tomorrow lead up to my time at the University of Kentucky. Here, we have everything we could want at the tips of our fingers. With meal swipes, it is impossible to say no. When I first got here, I started myself back on a routine. Working out in the morning, eating a healthy lunch and dinner, buying appropriate food from the grocery, but that all changed when classes started. With everything being online for me, I never leave my dorm unless it is to go get food. 

    Overall, my diet has definitely worsened since COVID-19 took over. In reality, I can blame my changed eating habits on the virus, but it is actually up to me to take action and make a change to get back to where I used to be. 

Who to Trust

     Today, we hear stories all over about these uncertain times. Who can we trust? What can we trust? What’s fact and what’s fiction? All of these questions race through my mind when it comes to getting information about what is going on in the world. 

    Honestly when it comes to fact or fiction, I turn to my aunt for information. My aunt is Medical Director for Hospital Medicine at the University of Louisville’s hospital. In other words, she oversees the non-ICU COVID-19 isolation unit at Jewish Hospital. With her personal experience, when I need to distinguish between fact and fiction, she’s my go to. 

    The news today is very political, making this more dangerous than the pandemic itself. They turn what is actually destroying people into something that is destroying society’s civility. This takes affect on many people, including my own family. Due to political beliefs, it makes it difficult to discuss current events, as a dispute is present every time. This pandemic appears to be tearing families apart in more ways than one. Personally, I am not super involved in politics, but attached is an article that I feel does a fantastic job describing the political divide.

https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/politics-may-kill-us-not-coronavirus

Debating our Future

     Only a little over two weeks into the semester, and schools are already shutting down everywhere. Whether they have not even started yet, or just getting started, schools across the country are putting a hold on in-person instruction. In our case, the University of Kentucky has yet to say anything in regards to whether or not we will be here for the remainder of the semester. Personally, I think and remain hopeful that we will get to finish out our first semester on campus. The university has so many guidelines in place such as remaining six feet apart, wearing a mask at all times, taking your daily 4.0, etc. As a student, I understand first hand how exhausting it may be to keep these in mind 24 hours, 7 days a week. However, these are the rules that will allow us to stay right where we are until Thanksgiving. There are signs everywhere reminding us to keep our distance, makes up, and keeping our residence halls to a minimum. 

    I myself have had a few personal encounters to where I felt like I did not have to follow these rules. For example, last week my roommate and I walked over to the student center to grab a quick lunch. As we walked into Champions Kitchen, a worker looked at us and reminded us to stay six feet apart. In the moment, I was shocked that she had made a comment about how close we were standing. I mean, she is my roommate, and we are together all the time. Then, it occurred to me why she was the first one to say something to us about our distance? We had never been asked to stand apart before, but this shows just how much the staff at the university wants to stay in Lexington just as much as we do.

    Another example includes the second day I was on campus. K-week had started, and one of the first events was watching Jaws on the lawn. We walked over to the main lawn, scanned our event passes, and continued to find four open blankets. All the blankets were placed six feet apart, and we were required to wear masks even in an open outdoor space. Long story short, my friends and I decided to not stay for the full movie , but we were allowed to take the blankets as we left. After leaving, we ended up sitting outside in the courtyard between Donovan and Johnson halls. We met up with two other girls who we had just met in our K-team, and as we were sitting there an RA came outside. He told us we needed to pull up our masks, as most of them were wearing them on our chins. This is yet another example of how much everyone wants to stay on campus. 

    In short, I think the University of Kentucky is going above and beyond to ensure their students will remain on campus until November. However, we all play a role in this goal, and must follow all guidelines to ensure we have a safe and full semester.