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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.

Today, for the second time in just over a year I'm traveling from a country--Spain-- where I've watched people do what they're asked: wear a mask, distance, and this time, get the vaccine, to flatten the curve. When I arrived in Spain in early July they were in their fifth wave, as they call it, cases rising and hospitals filling. Only 30% of the people were vaccinated because they had just started. Now, the last day of September, almost 80% of the population is fully vaxxed. The cases have plummeted. Some regions are fully opening up, although still requiring masks. On the train to Madrid yesterday, everyone wore a mask. No complaints. This picture basically says, "for you and for me" always wear a mask. To me it represents such a cultural difference from the US, where I'm from. It simply says "we're in this together" and people understand that. They might complain about restrictions, but the follow them because they understand that society is a collective endeavor. Today, I'm heading back to the US and dreading it. Back to the country where people think individual freedom includes the right to infect others. Where people are still pouring into emergency rooms with covid and asking for the vaccine. Where people still think covid doesn't exist.