You’re Not in Control; You Never Were
Life lessons from the elderly on how to survive a pandemic
When COVID-19 first shrouded the world in its deathly grip, I was an international student living in Boston, USA.
I had transplanted myself from Malaysia six months prior. Everything was still new to me — the climate, the culture, the transit system, even social rules like how much small talk to make with the cashier at Trader Joe’s.
(The answer is: as much as you like, as long as there’s no long line waiting for you.)
While most people hunkered down in their own home in their own home country, I was oceans away from my family, fiancé, and friends. When Government Baker gave the order to “shelter in place,” it sounded so strange to my ears. I was “out of place,” trapped in a foreign country.
Cut off from my support system, I found blessed relief from the kindness of strangers, people who had only known me for a few weeks or months. Perhaps even more surprisingly, I found comfort in the company of the older adults in the senior homes where I interned.
They were the most at risk. The most vulnerable. The ones on the frontlines of the battlefield as the virus rolled out its deadly gauntlet.
