The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lifestyle of nearly everyone to a certain extent, whether that be staying at home, wearing a mask or being more conscious of germs. These are all things that have affected us, but what about the people that live outside of the privilege that we take for granted each and every day? What has coronavirus done to their lives?
Junior Landon Nguyen has lived in Peachtree City for some time now, and it hasn’t been easy. He balances his family and school to an extent that we sometimes struggle to see on a daily basis in our particular community.
“Money was still something that me and my family struggled with before the pandemic, but COVID just made everything so much harder,” Nguyen said.
Before COVID-19 was even a problem, Nguyen got to hang out with friends after school, and live a semi-normal life. “Nothing was really stressful before COVID,” he said. “My mom had a job in which she could come home and watch my siblings while I got to work on schoolwork and hang out with my friends.”
Nguyen never lived a “privileged” life, but without a global pandemic, it was easier for him to manage, and his stress was limited to the basics: friends, school etc.
But COVID-19 came soon enough to change all of that for Nguyen and his family.
“Before COVID-19, I could ask my mom for five bucks and it would be no problem, but now I feel guilty because she just might not be able to spare it,” Nguyen expressed.
The challenges of COVID-19 went beyond Nguyen’s social life, as he struggled with managing his schoolwork and his family struggled just as much. Nguyen’s family is one of many struggling to get back on their feet after the economy took a crash at the beginning of this year.
“My sister had to pick up a job to help pay for her school,” Nguyen said. I also wanted to get a job, but I have younger siblings at home that can’t be home alone.”
Nguyen’s struggles with COVID-19 go beyond the struggles within and around the household, as he battles his own personal health issues as well.
“I used to have cancer when I was a kid, so I really have to be careful because I have a really weak immune system,” Nguyen said. “It’s pretty scary being here at school, just because I’m so compromised.”
According to Nguyen, being a cancer survivor isn’t the end of it. He frequently has health scares that put his life in danger, so battling COVID-19 and a weak immune system has proven to be more than a challenge.
While it is sometimes hard to see, Nguyen is not alone. Many students at McIntosh struggle with their own personal health issues, family struggles, and economic struggles as well. By bringing out the voices of McIntosh that may be struggling, whether that be all the time or just during our current pandemic, the more privileged individuals in Peachtree City and the surrounding areas get a different perspective on the impacts of COVID-19 on a more serious scale that is necessary to see if the country is going to beat this devastating virus.