It’s been quite a while since I’ve sat down to type out some of the things on mind.

I am closing my senior year of college from home in Colorado. All my classes are over Zoom and while I’m thankful that communication courses translate well online, online learning has opened my eyes to a lot of issues that go ignored in the American education system.

I have been tutoring online and (safely) in-person since April when I got out of my European quarantine. I teach kids all over the US and all different age ranges.

One thing remains the same in all of my students, they are sick.

COVID-19 is not the only disease that is spreading amongst the youth in America.

They are more susceptible to the mistreatment of time, the toxicity of social media, the strain of relationships, the depression of mundane activities, and the illness of dissatisfaction.

As college student, I know what I am missing out on, and yet I can be thankful for the 3 years I spent in Washington DC. I have complaints, but not regrets.

My students don’t know what they are missing. They are settling with Disney+ for personal time, unaware of what to be thankful for during the Thanksgiving season, and troubled with the loss of 2020 stuck at home.

I find more empathy for parents, mine especially. I can’t imagine having to entertain a 3rd grader at home, prepare all the meals (or spend the extra money on a delivery fee), balancing that with work, and still trying to cope with the fact that life is exhausting. As adults, there are easy ways to cope and we have the privilege of getting to complain online or drowning sorrows in adult beverages.

Think about our kids. My sister can’t hug her friends. The most exciting thing that happened recently was when someone dropped off a care package for me and we had a conversation well over 6 feet from each other. It’s sad. I am sad. This pandemic has affected every aspect of my life that I can brainstorm writing this. Even then, I cannot stop thinking about how my students must be feeling. They are sluggish, lost, unmotivated. I don’t blame them either.

I employ you to consider your kids and our future generation when you go to a supermarket without your mask on, swear your social circle is just your family when you go to private meetings with other families, or travel when experts are encouraging us to stay home.

It is vital that we do this together and for each other. You like going out to bars? Great! To ensure that we can go back and enjoy those things, stay inside, get takeout, support them while things are locked down. This disease does not care that you want the happy hour, it doesn’t stop spreading because you want to go see your friends. It is simply not about you anymore. It is about your neighbors, it’s for the grandparents who are alone this Thanksgiving, it is for the college students opting to stay in their cramped apartments to save the lives of their immunocompromised family members, it’s for the mail(wo)man who is delivering your Amazon packages.

Please stay home, teach your kids that you can get through, set the example, and be intentional to find gratitude this season.

Stay safe. Be well.

JLee