I now have to teach my students through virtual schooling. I miss being with them and seeing them daily.

The virus has affected me in many ways. I have to get used to a new way of life. Working from home. Wearing masks everywhere I go. Wearing gloves to pump gas. Not being able to shop or eat in restaurants without worrying about whose by me. Not being able to cough in public without everyone looking at me crazy. The new norm is difficult to adapt to. It’s a learning process. But I understand that it’s all for our safety.

COVID-19 has turned my life a bit upside down, as it has for many. My boyfriend and I both work in tech, for two different platforms in the hiring industry. When the Stay at Home regulations began across the country, my company was flooded with cancellations. We specialize in restaurants and hospitality, so it’s understandable that as a hiring tool we’d be one of the first services cut as these companies try to stay afloat. My company is a very small startup, so this hit us hard from the get-go. We immediately cut salaries across the board and cancelled bonus plans, with our C-level execs forgoing paychecks entirely to keep us afloat. Our next ‘phase’ is moving to rolling 1-2 week mandatory unpaid vacations, cycling through each employee as long as we can keep our finances in a place to avoid layoffs.My boyfriend works for one of the largest hiring platforms in the world, and they have a number of different revenue channels, so we figured his job would be safe even if mine was not. After 7 years of working there, he was very unceremoniously laid off—along with more than half of the company—in an effort to manage costs amidst their drastic decline in sales. As long as our losses continue to stay steady, my company may actually avoid layoffs and the unpaid vacations entirely. With the flexibility of a small team and the government assistance programs being implemented, we’re in a scary-but-decent position. I never thought my tiny tech startup would be the one to come out of this relatively ok! It’s been interesting to see how companies with similar clients and offerings are managing this time so differently. We definitely are in a crazy point in history but will all get through it together.

Coronavirus continues to impact my life due to the schools being closed down, as well as the colleges. I am an Academic Tutor as well as an Afterschool Counselor, when the schools closed down the pay stopped due to not clocking in as I would before the pandemic. It’s hard to get help with online courses for me because I have multiple questions that I feel need face to face answers, but I still try to do it to my best ability because this is what I have to work with for now. It sucks because you never realize how much you miss something until missing it is your only option.

My immediate family has been impacted financially across the board. As of yet, we have not suffered any sickness from the pandemic. I really miss seeing and hugging family members. We video chat frequently but it’s nowhere near the same. My hours were greatly affected at my job. And because of the uncertainty of when I would work next, I had to scurry around to come up with another solution to try and stay afloat money wise . That, along with being a full time mother of a 7 year old with autism who I now have to do distant learning with, has been really tough. I am trying to maintain a positive mindset and my sanity but it is truly difficult. It has been a scary ordeal for me, not so much due to the actual virus, but for the panic/fear surrounding it from others. Im not a homebody so as a person who is used to going places, being hunkered down for this time actually made me appreciate time I get out to go to work.

I have learned how too take one day at a time. To love and appreciate your family and friends because tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Grateful too still be employed and recieving a paycheck.