If you had told me March 13 was possibly my last day of high school ever, I would have laughed in your face.

If you had told me that I would potentially never see my friends from high school again, I would have smirked. 

If you had told me that I would quite possibly never get to thank the amazing teachers I’ve had like Mrs. Honeycutt or Mr. Grubaugh, I would have … well I don’t know what I would have done. 

I regret not taking things more seriously because now reality has slapped me across the face with such vigor, I haven’t been the same since. And yet, I believe that to be the reality for almost anyone who is taking this pandemic seriously. 

Isn’t that what we should be doing? Taking things seriously? 

I’ve lost a lot of hope and faith in mankind recently. I’ve seen the lack of compassion, I’ve seen the videos of people fighting over toilet paper. I’ve even seen the videos responding to them, pleading them to not be irrational because you never know what less privileged person will not be able to purchase necessary supplies because an ignorant few chose to think only of themselves. 

This is not time for us to choose fear over compassion. 

I don’t care how worried you are, and I especially don’t care that you think your life has been interrupted by what some have deemed an “annoyance.” 

This is no longer about the few, but the many. The reality is that we are failing to legitimize the very thing that could completely bridge us into hysteria. 

The single mom with children to feed is barely making it through this. The medical professionals who are working tirelessly are putting their lives on the line every day, working with sparse supplies. High school seniors have lost what was supposed to be one of the best times of their lives so far. College students are losing opportunities they’ve worked hard for, the list continues on. 

We are not at war in a traditional sense, but in many ways we are at war with ourselves. We must find the empathy, it’s time to reach deep into our souls and find any compassion and strength we have left. One day this will be over.

In the meantime, we must sit and practice good health. I understand it’s hard to revert from our habits. It’s hard to go from complete normalcy to a new reality. 

But this is a reality, and for right now this reality is not going anywhere. Things are going to get worse before they get better. It is absolutely disheartening and scary, but it is the time more than ever before to test our strength.

I will not stand to see people selfishly be ignorant of this reality. Remember who we are and why we are here. 

When this time comes to pass we will look back and hopefully be thankful of how we handled this awful situation. Hope is everywhere if you look hard enough. 

So right now, I ask of you, I plead with all my being, to please think of others. 

Think of others. Trust others. Love others.

The only way we’ll get through this is if we push past what we feel for ourselves, and focus on what we feel for those around us. 

This really is … unprecedented times.