I am a 11 grade student in New York City, Brooklyn. I was honored to be invited by Boost Up NY to speak to New York City high school students about my experiences during the pandemic. I hope my experience can be useful to you.

      As of April 2, 2022, the number of confirmed covid-19 cases in New York City exceeded 2.31 million and the death toll exceeded 40,000. Unfortunately, my mother is one of these 2.31 million individuals. Although she eventually recovered, it was an extremely scary time for all of us. My mother was the first person to get the Covid-19 variant Delta in my family. I had a chance to see firsthand how Covid-19 affects patients: difficulty breathing, fever, chills, headache, sore throat frequently tormented my poor mother. Sometimes my mother hugged her head hard when she had a headache, and sometimes her throat hurt so much that she could only eat liquid food. Difficulty breathing kept her in bed, she couldn't do anything…

      During my mom's time with the virus, my family faced challenges like never before. My dad suffered both physical and psychological torment. He had to clean his wife’s room every day in a sweltering hazmat suit, and the heat nearly knocked him into a coma. Dad is a strong man and I have never seen him cry. But his wife's pained expression made him inadvertently shed tears. It was a dark night, and we saw no hope…

      Fortunately, Mom beat the virus. Our lives are finally back to normal. After this incident, we wear masks seriously and vaccinate according to the doctor's order, hoping that the vaccine will defeat the pandemic.