A Dark Time

Abigail Gilder

In just a few months, society shut down. People are socially distancing, remaining in lockdown to prevent early passings. In just a few months, people began to fight for their lives. During this bleak time, we, as civilians, have a lot of people to thank. We have our military, our police officers, and perhaps most importantly, those on the frontlines of this global pandemic– healthcare workers. Nurses, doctors, EMT workers- all of these people are doing their best to save as many people as possible, whether it be cleaning and wiping down hospital beds for new patients, or putting people on ventilators and giving them medication in the hopes of saving their lives. These people are driving themselves crazy with super long shifts in attempts to save strangers lives. 

In this dark time, we could all use a bit of light to our day. Let me bring some to yours. 

When Dr. Sarosh Ashraf Janjua was driving above the speed limit on her way to work, she assumed she would get a speeding ticket once she was pulled over by a state trooper. Upon giving him her license, she explained she had to make a weekly flight out to Minnesota to Boston in order to work at the local hospital in cardiology. She waited for him to write a ticket, and instead of giving her a ticket, he let her off with a warning. He told her that speeding was dangerous and let her off with a warning, returning her license along with something else. Upon receiving the parcel, she realized it was five new N95 masks from his state-supplied stash. He gave his personal protective stash to a doctor who was more in danger than he. 

From all of the darkness that comes with isolation and fear, there is still some good left in the world. Even though people are panicking from the threat of the virus, there is still time to make things right and make the world a better place. Despite the hardships we may be put through, we, as people, always remember to listen to the words of a wise woman and do one thing: Choose Kindness.