UA Student: We are 5,508 miles apart, but COVID-19 makes the distance greater | Local Editorials and Opinion
It is 9:42 p.m. I reach for my phone and as I scroll to the left on my home screen, the first thing I notice is the word ‘countdown’ at the top. I’ve been so dependent on this digital application to feel a sense of hope.
Earlier this year, I counted down the days until I could see my boyfriend Quentin again, but I don’t have that option anymore. He lives in France.
On March 11, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. On that same day, President Trump announced a travel ban that restricted any entry into the United States from the Schengen Area, which includes France.
Shortly after that the European Union put in place travel restrictions for Americans as a measure to contain the coronavirus.
Anxiety and doubt filled my mind following that March news.
I remember making an oat milk cappuccino for a customer at work but thinking a million miles per hour: How serious is the virus, what if I get sick, what if a loved one gets sick and what measures will we take if we do? When will I see Quentin again— will the ban be in place all summer long— if we don’t see each other this summer, then… when?
“I felt that it was kind of (a) fragile situation to be not in the same country,” Quentin said.
To some extent, we are all facing tentative experiences this year. Life has shown to be challenging on so many new levels.
People have lost loved ones, their jobs, income and livelihood to the pandemic.
When Quentin and I first decided that we would travel to see each other oceans apart in our long-distance relationship, we understood that meant we would have to face hardships.
