Covid's Effect on My Lifestyle

The pandemic led to many changes in my daily life. One of the things that was effected the most was my eating habits. Before Covid-19, my family ate rather healthy, but because of it, my eating habits became even better. One of the biggest faults in my eating habits had been that my meals were never at consistent times because I was always so busy. Being involved in many school activities led me to eat dinner really late or really early. I had more meals on the go and would snack to help me make it meal to meal. With the shutdown, my meals became more consistent because I would eat lunch and dinner at relatively the same time everyday with my family. Eating with my family also helps my eating habits because then I do not just sit there on my phone while I eat, which can lead to overeating. The shutdown meant that everything was closed, so we could not go out to dinner like we occasionally would. This meant we were cooking all of our meals at home, which we usually do anyways, but because there were no other places to break up our cooking, some of the meals got repetitive. This encouraged us to try new, healthier meals such as making salads or cooking with fresh herbs we grew. The pandemic did lead to different shortages of things that my family buy normally such as chicken breasts and packets of yeast.

My exercise habits were also impacted by Covid. I have always an active person. I enjoy working out, and in high school, I swam and played lacrosse. When the shutdown came, it became a quick shock to me as I no longer had sports or gyms to workout at. The first week or so was rough because my body felt awful from going from always being active to not doing anything. I quickly developed a routine of walking my dog with my mom each day, and began to start doing some home workouts. I have never been a runner, but my twin even got me to go on a few runs with her. My sisters and I began biking around our town to explore, and my health was probably at a high right before I came to college. The switch to college food and gyms was a big one, but I am slowly adjusting myself to help keep my healthy lifestyle.

Food and Football Players

Tuesday, September 9th, my roommate and I expected a regular trip to the dining hall. We were in line behind a group of football players, not thinking much about it because all we saw were their backpacks, and both of us were starving. It was not until they were running around the stations that we noticed their lack of masks. Two of them were wearing ones around their chins but did not want to pull them up when an employee asked them. The other one did not have a mask at all. A manager of the dining hall came over to them and asked them to leave. After they made a big scene, the manager gave them a minute to get food and get out. However, the boys still took their sweet time. The one with out a mask grabbed a rag from the drink station and told the manager that it should count if he covered his mouth with it. Many minutes later, the manager and some other employees were able to escort the boys out of the dining hall. I was shocked to say the least at this encounter. First of all, I would have thought that the players would have been extra cautious because they would want to play their season. Second of all, I do not understand why they could not just follow the rules. If anything, wear the mask to be polite to others. Lastly, I was appalled by how they treated the workers. I do not know why they would think that they were above following the rules. Who would have thought that this is what I would be experiencing at college.

#MaskUpCats

Will We Stay?

Wellness Station

Covid has caused so many new rules and regulations to be put in place on campus. However, as a first-year, it is weird for me to think of campus in any other way. The big question floating around is "will we get to stay on campus for the full semester?". I wish I could answer this, but my guess is as good as yours. I believe that we have a good chance of being able to stay on campus for the full semester. I think this because the University of Kentucky has put in place may guidelines to keep everyone safe. They have social distancing everywhere, require masks all over campus, and have taken many other precautions such as moving some classes and activities online. They have signs everywhere reminding you to follow the rules and to take steps of your own such as frequently washing your hands, avoiding crowds, and staying out of enclosed spaces when possible. The university has also placed wellness stations around campus to help provide students with things they may need, such as masks, wipes, and hand sanitizers. UK has been doing constant testing to help watch numbers. Originally everyone was tested; then Greek life was re-tested. I am not sure who they plan on testing next, but the university does provide free testing for anyone who wants it, so if someone is feeling ill, they have an easy and accessible way to get tested. One of the main things that I believe will help keep us on campus is that the students seem to really want to stay. People are being extra cautious because they do not want to become quarantined or to have everyone sent home. Here is a video of Coach Calipari encouraging everyone to be safe:

(click on picture for link)

    Even with all of these positives, I still cannot say that I am sure that we will get to stay. It is hard to be completely optimistic when I am talking to my friends at other universities with rising numbers. One of my close friends attends Indiana University where all of there Greek life was shutdown because of the amount of Covid in their houses. I fear that one bad weekend could cause an issue like this for us. Another school my friends are at that is struggling is the University of Dayton. Their number of cases is so high that they have been on a level 4 lock-down, and the university is threatening to send them all home.