Valeria Olga Kavaliauskis

My COVID Experience

During the COVID time, what I notice in general about people is their mask. Not their COVID mask but the mask they wear in their daily life. I mean, who is good, is still good--compassionate, caring about others, no matter what they have or where they came from. But those who are selfish and egocentric put it out clearly.

Dealing with people every day makes me notice how fast they can judge you when they see you in a “privileged position” because you still have your job or your car. In my job, there are many demands of me and many fingers pointed towards me, often because I am still employed.

They see me as a threat, “Why does she have this job and not me?” Things that never used to bother people, like my accent because English is my third language, suddenly is an offence. I see the bad face of people every day.

COVID also makes me very worried about my family, especially my parents. I think about what I am doing here, so far from them. But at the same time, I realize the security and the friendliness of most people are what have kept me here for almost eight years. I see a lot of people in solidarity with other people. People spending more time as a family, seeing that being healthy is a privilege, and most importantly, family always comes first.