How much influence is too much?

 The internet has become one of the major influences on people in our society. With this comes the creation of positions such as influencers and content creators. These people are paid to promote fads, fashion, and habits. Many influencers will discuss their "work out routines" and some will advertise appetite suppressors. This has obvious effects on those who intake the media, and I think these types of posts are what is largely responsible for the current 'fitness' trend. Around campus at UK, you'll see flyers about events relating to "getting your body back, girl!" or overhear a conversation in which an individual is freaking out because they've exceeded their 1,000 calorie diet. While I think fitness is important, and I'm glad people are focusing on their health, it's becoming apparent it's no longer about that. It's about having the best body, and following what everyone else is doing. Influencers and those that follow them have normalized extreme dieting and fitness regimes to a dangerous extent. I have a 12 year old sister. She's already very small and petite, especially for her height. She wakes up early in the morning everyday to complete a two-hour workout in order to make sure she stays under 100 lbs. Her reasoning why? because all the influencers she looks up to advertise "Chloe Ting workouts".  I think this current trend shows the affect of the internet on people, and I think it's important to recognize that- especially in regards to COVID. Whatever they promote, whatever they post, that's what is normal and 'okay'. If they're not distancing and they're not wearing proper PPE, that's what is going to be processed by many. This is a video of an interview and discussion about the dangers of influencer based body expectations happening in Ireland. 

COVID-19: The unexpected diet plan

Prior to going into quarantine, my family didn't cook very much at all. We would go out to different restaurants for dinner or would grab fast food for lunch. When the lock-down began, we quickly went to Kroger and stocked up with large amounts of food. Ever since then, we only cook in, we haven't been to a restaurant since right before the pandemic began. It surprisingly wasn't a difficult transition. Everyone in my household has a very fast paced life style, so eating out was of necessity rather than luxury. With my family's new connection with food, came a new connection within our family. Dinner time has become a special time at home, we all contribute to fixing dinner and we all sit down together and talk. This is something I hope remains a tradition in my family after the vaccine for COVID has been passed. In terms of health and diet, I lost a lot of weight through this process. We would fix more balanced meals and regulate the types of food we were eating, rather than ordering whatever was being served. All in all, the food situation regarding COVID for me and my family allowed for a healthier relationship, and a healthier diet. 

"You know what they say about good food, it brings people together."

 Dining halls on campus are a favorite of many. You know what they say about good food, it brings people together. In this situation, is that a good implementation? When walking into the 90, people are supposed to stay distanced by the blue markers located on the floor. This is mostly effective, with few in groups on single dots. When you enter the buffet style eatery, there's large amounts of students piled close together in line to get food at the hot spot places (Comfort Food, and Athenian Greek). Where the main issue arises though, is in the dine-in complex. I don't know how it's a safe plan of action to have numerous people in an area, congregating together, without masks. While it's understood a masks can't be worn while eating, what can be said about the particles they're releasing? In a space where food is out in the open, it seems it would be a contamination factor. I dread walking into the dining halls every day. No, not because I don't like the food, but because it poses a greater risk than many realize. That is one thing I think the University should add to it's COVID-19 policy, closed dine-in options at the dining halls. It contradicts many of the major actions being promoted and is a health risk for the students. 

Improper mask attire in the William T. Library

 The William T. Young library is a place where many students come daily to work on schoolwork. The tables have reduced chair capacity, and other spaces available have been distanced. On almost every wall in sight there are flyers and posters reading, "MASKS ARE REQUIRED IN THIS SPACE." or "STAY 6 FEET APART!" There are admins walking around approx. every 30 minutes to and hour checking for appropriate mask attire and social distancing polices. You would think the message would be very clear. As I'm sitting here, in one of the large green study chairs in the library, I am the only person in this space wearing a mask. There are five people in this area, excluding myself. Some have the masks swinging from a single ear, waiting to throw it on when they see the admin approaching. Others have completely forgotten the mask and it lies shoved in their backpacks. In fact, if I stand and walk around the second floor, out of the 30ish students I see, only about 7 of them have masks on. Not only are they not wearing the required PPE, many are closely congregated with their friends. They've drug the chairs from table to table, re-arranged the layout of the large study chairs, and cram into a small table. While many move and follow the instructions the admin gives, some will return to their positions and attire as soon as he's left the floor. Pictured below is an example of an individual in the library, with their masks hanging from a single ear. 

Humanity vs. Ideology

There has long been a debate regarding the authenticity of the media. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted this issue. Depending on which news station you follow, or what company you choose to get your data from, the answers and statements about COVID were very different. In the beginning of the crisis, most Republican biased media blew off the pandemic and claimed it was a liberal scam to shift the country to socialist tendencies and allow for a reduction of "American freedom". Where as Liberal biased media blew up the statistics and made rash claims that sparked fear and shortages across the country. Even neutral sources, such as the Center for Disease Control, has been shown to be publishing inaccurate data regarding COVID. This leaves the question, where is one supposed to get accurate data from? I don't think there is an exact answer to that question. I don't think there is one definite source 100% reputable to rely on. I would recommend reading and retaining information from a variety of different types of sources. Find the common ground, find what's different, and do some research on the two. The only way to become knowledgeable about something is to actively educate yourself about it. Simply reading an article isn't going to help you, as that article is always going to be written in some type of bias. An article I've found that agrees with much of my perspectives and a lot of what I've talked about in this post is linked here:  Covid-19 Can Change International Politics Forever

In my household, the majority of my family members are conservative. Thus, they only watch and read conservative news. This causes a conflict because a lot of the time I have point of their bias and help them see facts. Honestly, I think the way this pandemic has been politicized is going to be more of a long term problem than the pandemic itself. Once a vaccine has been produced, this pandemic will be remembered as nothing more than an awful, weird, exciting event that happened in our lives.The effects of this pandemic though, that's what will be remembered. The gap between partisan politics has somehow become even larger, with political tension running rampant in the country. Beyond that, politics regarding to the global society has also become unbelievably tense. I've seen people shrug away and distance themselves from those of Asian heritage in grocery stores, because COVID-19 has been labeled "the Chinese virus". Where is the line drawn? At what point does humanity come before ideology? 

College party culture: creating a second wave of COVID-19

At the University of Kentucky, we are most efficient pertaining to COVID-19. At least, that's what we're told. In walking around campus, it's rare you'll come into contact with someone not wearing a mask. In common areas and dining halls, that becomes a different story. In these areas, many people aren't wearing masks or social distancing. The same can be said about people going to off campus parties and congregating inside other people's dorms. For this reason, I fear campus will have to go online before the end of the semester. I believe the University is truly doing all they can do. They are constantly surveying these areas, attempting to distance them and encourage them to put their masks on when finished eating. People are sanitizing and wiping down surfaces periodically throughout the day. The University can only control so much, and at some point the students have to take that responsibility upon themselves. I've seen so many posts from the people I know at UK in crowds of at least 100 people from daily Fraternity, Sorority, and off campus gatherings. These posts are captioned with phrases making a joke about the pandemic and things such as, "I'm not losing another year to the rona!".These people then come back to campus and continue their daily schedules. Knowing this, and knowing the spreading rate of COVID-19, I think it will be impossible for students to remain on campus until November. Until students decide to take the situation we're in seriously, it's uncertain how long it'll be before we have a guarantee of what's going to happen.   

An introduction: myself and COVID-19

My name is Tori Simpson, and I'm an 18 year old Caucasian female. I'm from a small town right outside of Louisville, Kentucky. I wouldn't say I fit into an exact class system, seeing as my class varies based on which of my guardians you examine. My father is of middle class, and my mother figure (my great-aunt) is of upper class. My father and I have lived with my great-aunt, whom I call "Karo", since I was around 7 years old. We live on a large 'farm' of sorts ( we don't produce any animals or crops), surrounded by my immediate family, and I've always grown up being "of the land" as they call it. I've also attended private school for the entirety of my educational career, which as I'm sure you can guess, created a very diverse personality for me when mixed with my country roots. An important thing to know about me is my passion for healthcare. This passion has been prevalent in my life since I was around 6 years old, when my mother was diagnosed with brain cancer. Needless to say, that's what I'm pursuing in college. Pertaining to COVID-19, it becomes interesting in my family because most people in my household are of high-risk. I wouldn't say this pandemic has been 'worse' for my family in the sense of physical health, but it has definitely been a large burden on our mental health. With my family members being high-risk, we went into quarantine on March 13th and those at home are still in quarantine. Food and groceries are brought to our car from Kroger, we watch movies and play card games daily, and would have any other necessities delivered to our house via Amazon. Our contact with those outside of our farm was extremely limited and I can probably count on one hand the amount of social interactions since March. I've mentioned that my immediate family also lives on the property, I have an aunt who's a nurse, and her husband also works in hospitals. To make matters worse, they have a baby under the age of one. My family and I will help take care of the baby while they're at work and it's a risk we take daily. In this situation though, what has to be done, has to be done. Surprisingly, the closest encounter we've had with COVID isn't from them. It's from a sweet, old priest that has been close friends with my family for decades. He fell ill with COVID a few months ago, and he was one of the few we would maintain interactions with. Luckily, none of my family caught it and Father Ralph has made a recovery. My story with COVID isn't pleasant, but it's significantly better than a vast majority of the global population, and for that reason you will not hear me complain.