By: Lainey Hardiman
From airbases to classrooms, everyone has been affected by the coronavirus. Our personal, work and school lives changed almost instantly. Students went online as schools across the world adapted virtual learning environments. Workers were divided into two groups: essential and non-essential.
We had to adjust to our new normal; our social lives changed as much as our professional lives. We found ourselves stuck inside our homes and isolated from everything we knew. No one knew how long we would be quarantined, but students still had deadlines to meet.
I had to learn how to balance my mental health along with all my college assignments. I’ve worked and completed almost two and a half semesters of college throughout the pandemic. I can say this has been the hardest and most rewarding experience I have lived through. I feel more prepared for my future than I did before.
I learned to be more diligent when studying and completing assignments. The stress of balancing my health, homework and mental health progress continues to occupy my thoughts. It is a constant battle. However, I learned that maintaining a good mentality and workspace enhanced my ability to do my job.
Adapting to social and emotional changes is just as important as adapting to changes in our work lives. As professional writing students we are among the millions that had to adjust to continue working. Covid caused professional writers to change the way we hold interviews and gather information.
In the fall of 2020, I had to do several interviews for a class project. Due to safety guidelines, it was almost impossible to hold in-person interviews during and after quarantine. I could only use phone calls because of scheduling conflicts, social distancing and geography.
This meant recording my phone calls and then taking notes. Scheduling phone call interviews between time zones is not the easiest, but I had to do it. I relied on my phone to continue working. Other students relied on another form of telecommunication.
Zoom interviews are the easiest ways we students and other essential workers have found to maintain our work. Students continue to hold interviews over Zoom Conferences or Zoom audio calls. We had to learn how to communicate and gather information effectively while social distancing. The changes we made are not even close to what essential workers went through.
First Lieutenant (1LT) Devon John of the United States Air Force worked throughout the quarantine. He dealt with personal and professional changes, but he never stopped working. He worried about exposing himself and his wife who was at home. He worried about the stress of testing positive for the virus. He had safety guidelines at work and at home. At work he wore a mask and wiped everything down. After work, his wife made him immediately change clothes and take a shower.
He had to make several changes in his everyday routine. He worked two days per week instead of his usual five days on and three days off schedule. He flew in the same sensor operator and cockpit rather than switching to minimize exposure. They flew less planes than usual, but he still worked.
“My squadron and I and the rest of the military didn’t have a choice. Every second of every single day a plane was in the air.” -1LT Devon John
Like many other essential works, the 1LT had no choice. He woke up every day to fly military combat planes. He and his squadron couldn’t just stop because of the virus. So, they took every precaution and safeguard they could think of. He and his wife learned how to navigate their changes and their relationship became stronger because of it.
An article written for the U.S. Air Force News re-emphasizes the 1LT’s experience. From it, we understand the Air Force’s dedication for safety and workability. We remember the military’s dedication to serve and protect its workers and the people of the United States. Even the Air Force advocates the balance of safety in our social and work lives.
“This may be a different adversary, but our military and nation will rise to the occasion to prevail and protect our way of life.” -LTC Lucas Choate
It reinforces the Air Force’s mission to stand by and protect our nation. They do not have a choice, but they will continue to support and defend the American way of life (Choate, 2020).
Problem-solving is a huge part of future careers, and the skills we have learned throughout the pandemic will only help us throughout our life. I realized the importance of communication after completing this interview and reading this article. Communication is not only significant for us as a society, but it is especially necessary for professional writers. Without it, we lose connection and our work becomes meaningless. If we can’t connect or communicate effectively, what’s the point?
So, like our essential workers we chose to keep communicating. Even though the world as we know it came to a stop, we still had to work. As we move forward into our new normal, we bring innovative strengths and abilities that we did not have before. Our experiences throughout the pandemic have challenged us, but we have come out stronger.
