VOICES
Addressing Pandemic Fatigue
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Celebrations have become a prominent obstacle in our fight against the coronavirus, making it more important to resist the urge to escape the seclusion of quarantine. BY AMANDA CHRISTENSEN The urge to get out of the sweatpants you’ve worn the last three days and go out with your friends for a night on the town has grown increasingly hard to resist, especially fter eight painful months of pandemic-induced seclusion in our homes—and the upcoming months don’t show much for improvement. Personally, the fall season is my favorite, but not for the clichés of pumpkin spice and the changing colors of the trees. Instead, I look forward to Halloween, hoodie season, tailgates, and to top off the cake—my 21st birthday. Pre-coronavirus, I would’ve been planning some great spooky celebration for my favorite holiday alongside my birthday, but this fall presents a completely different landscape to navigate. After eight long months of stay-at-home orders, mask mandates, and diminished social lives, these events become even more enticing. It’s hard to look out at people attempting to bring back a sense of “normalcy.” Especially on a college campus, with bars reopening and students hosting get-togethers in their small apartments, it’s difficult to resist the urge to join them. Why can they get away with breaking seemingly every single COVID-19 rule and be totally nonchalant about their decisions, while others have to contemplate if it’s safe for them to go to the grocery store? Our adaptation to pandemic life has created this grey area where people are trying to decide what’s considered acceptable or unacceptable. What’s become known as “pandemic fatigue” has just about everyone contemplating the things that used to be so normal in their
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everyday lives, from social hours to restaurant dinners to simple grocery shopping. We want to be able to do the things we did a year ago without question, with our only worries being what we would wear for game day or what our Halloween costumes would be. Now, we are needing to step back and question if any of these activities are safe or acceptable during the age of COVID-19. The hardest part: Not everyone has the same idea of what should be acceptable or not. With students back on college campuses, more coronavirus outbreaks are popping up all over the country—why? Parties, bars, and tailgates. Pandemic fatigue has not only brought out those desperate to revamp their normal fall festivities, it also has exhausted those most committed to stopping the spread of the virus. Constantly having to turn down invites to parties and tailgates and being unable to see family members makes us feel more and more isolated as the year goes on. It’s even harder to see people doing the very things causing the continued spread of the virus, seemingly throwing out all efforts by their peers to stop it. Despite the appeal of going out with friends to let loose and de-stress, it’s still crucial to remember the very reason why these annual celebrations have become controversial conversations—we are still in a pandemic, one that has yet to show little, if any, improvement since March. We need to consider what is more important to our future and if going to that party or having that birthday night out at
the bar is a safe decision in the grand scheme of things. For those committed to stopping the spread of this seemingly never-ending virus and looking for a break from Zoom school, there are still some ways to celebrate the fall season in COVID-19-safe ways. Keep your circle small and only socialize with those you live with and see every day. Try making a plan to go to a local pumpkin patch or corn maze. This keeps you out of small, indoor spaces, and you can enjoy the MN outdoors before it’s too cold. If you want to celebrate a birthday or have a friendsgiving, stay home with your roommates and make it a movie night or a game night with some wine. As much as a nice restaurant or big tailgate appeals to our urge to get out of this pandemic fatigue, celebrating at home is probably the safest way to celebrate any occasion this fall. Of course we all want to get out of the house and enjoy a ghostly Halloween or a spirited game day tailgate, but we have to minimize as much unnecessary activity as we can in order to make any sort of progress in beating the coronavirus. There are plenty more important things to be concerned about than bars and parties—and they’ll still be there when it’s safe to celebrate again.
NOVEMBER 16 — DECEMBER 14
