I Care, Therefore I Wear a Mask
It’s not because I’m living in fear.
Right now, in September 2020, six months after the United States, we’re still dealing with the pandemic (and hopefully we’re at the tail end of it). Whenever I leave my home, I still wear a mask. Even if I don’t think that I’ll be near anyone, I still do because there already are been a few times that I’ve run into people randomly (it’s usually in parking lots). I thought I could run a quick errand without being in proximity of anyone, but those few times, I was wrong. It just takes one of being exposed to someone with COVID-19 and not taking precaution to catch it myself, and with my medial history, who knows what this coronavirus would do to me.
It’s not just me, it’s other people too. I could have it right now and be asymptomatic or presymptomatic (it can take up 14 days after being infected to show any symptoms). People tend to forget that when you wear a mask, you wear it to protect others from infection, not the other way around. You are protected if other people around you wear their masks too.
I care about other people. It’s how I try to live my life, even when it’s hard to do so. I care about their health and overall well-being. I want my family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, acquaintances, and people I don’t know who live within a 30 mile radius to her as healthy as possible. I care if you live. I care if you get sick. I care if you suffer. I care and hope you stay healthy. Wearing a mask now is like the current version of “love thy neighbor.”
Wearing a mask doesn’t mean that I’m living in fear; I’m living with caution. Knowing that we’re still going through a pandemic, I am making mindful decisions to increase the safety of those around me and myself.
Roderick Conwi is the Executive Editor at Nourishment Notes. He is also the author of The Procrastinator’s Quick Guide To Getting It Done.
