Out of Sight out of Mind, a Spring Break Pandemic
Jamie Muras, a sophomore at Texas State University, was one of many effected by the coronavirus. As the first case was reported in January, it wasn't quite the pandemic that we've grown to know today. Jamie had planned a spring break trip to Port Aransas, Texas with friends to take place in March. Going into the trip, the virus had begun to get more serious.
The Decision
As word started to spread about the virus becoming more serious, Jamie decied to still pursue her spring break plans while staying safe, because it wasn't too far away from home and she was going with a very small group. At this point, it was scary and unnerving, but no serious concern to her directly. While in Port Aransas, she began hearing of schools near and far to Texas State that were announcing remote class following spring break. It could be assumed that Texas State would do the same, but no telling when. Jamie was concerned because it seemed like everyone was talking about the virus, but there was still not a lot of knowledge about what it actually was.
Constant Uncertainty
On March 3rd, Texas State announced a week extension of spring break. "I knew that this couldn't be the only change for the semester, but the university taking action and have a direct affect on me, definitely shook me," Jamie said. Jamie wasn't wrong because a week later on March 19th, Texas State announced it would be holding remote courses for the rest of the semester. "At this point, I began to freak out a little bit. I had no idea how my professors were going to treat this situation and whether it was going to make my classes more challenging." The emails from professors started rolling out of the semester plans and how everyone was going to move forward with this adjustment. It finally came time for Jamie to head back home to San Marcos on March 20th, but she had no idea what was ahead of her.
The Return
After returning, Jamie was exposed to the craziness that the outbreak created. Jamie had planned to go grocery shopping after returning from her trip, but she didn't realize the post-apocolyptic world she was going to witness. "When we were in Port Aransas, we didn't realize how dessereted the cities actually were. This was before the announcements of lockdowns, but everyone was preaparing for a shelter in place already." She saw on several social media posts that the shelves at the stores were completely empty and that the crowds were taking over. She and some friends decided to go together to try and find some groceries, but they had no idea what they were about to see, or not see rather.
The shelves were completely empty, and it was not the time to be picky when it came to finding food. "I knew that it was a mass freak out with everyone emptying the stores out, but it I think that's what freaked me out even more." She came home with a few cans of soup, some chips, and some bananas. At this point, she had no option but to go stay with her parents in South Austin. Her parents had been warning her that word was going around about city-wide lockdowns, and they felt better knowing she was home. Soon enough, Travis County (where her parents resided) announced they would be on lockdown. This included the closing of all non-essential stores and a curfew at 11 P.M. and for everyone to maintain a 6 feet distance from eachother. For the next couple weeks, she had no choice but to stay inside.
The hardest part for her was having no social interaction, especially with family who she hasn't seen in quite a long time. However, Jamie started noticing a trend on social media of people doing "drive-by" greetings or even parades for celebrations like birthdays. Below, you will see Jamie doing a "drive-by" for her friend Megan who she hasn't seen in a few months.