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

I'm on the list to get the vaccine. I found out yesterday that CMU is putting its EMTs on the list of their healthcare workers. We could be receiving our first doses a month from now. It's a lot to think about. I assumed I'd be getting the vaccine as a healthy young adult (at the very end of the priority list). So I haven't been paying the closest attention to the rollout of the vaccine distribution program. Nobody really knows how long it's going to take to get to the general population, but it'll definitely be months at the very least. But now I might be looking at weeks instead of months or even closer to a year like most of my friends. I don't think my life will change that much after I get the vaccine. COVID safety measures will be in place for months if not indefinitely, and I plan to keep wearing a mask and limiting my exposure to others as much as possible. But it's kind of strange to think that most of my friends won't be getting their vaccines until months after me. I haven't told any of them. Would that seem like bragging? I don't know the etiquette for this. COVID has infiltrated so much of my social life that I sometimes don't know what to talk about other than the pandemic and Zoom and social distancing and the vaccine. But it is a relief, to know that I'll be getting the vaccine soon. I'm careful. I wash my hands and wear a mask and follow social distancing measures. But there's still a fear. We ordered food from Tarim a few weeks ago, and the rice that is usually very flavorful tasted bland to me. That was scary.Then there was the period I had a coughing fit every night (I think my room was dusty). That worried me, too. Near the end of the semester, my temperature started trending from the 97-98 range to the 99s for a few days, and I wondered if I could be starting to get a fever. It wasn't always like this. I didn't think about these things so much before the pandemic. Even with the vaccine offering an additional level of protection, I think there will always be some anxiety. We all want to think that we're that one-in-a-million, whether it's lottery tickets or COVID-19. I think that sometimes I just need to remind myself that I'm not special. What's probably going to happen is the statistically most likely option, which is that I get both doses of the vaccine, maybe a little bit of soreness or fever, then I develop antibodies and never get COVID. But I worry anyway. And then there's the part of me that feels like I could be taking a vaccine away from someone who needs it more. If I don't get my vaccines now, and instead wait in line until my turn as a healthy adult comes up (which is almost certainly spring or later), maybe another essential worker or a nursing home resident, or a prison inmate will live. Someone who isn't able to take as many social distancing measures as I am, and who is going to get exposed to the virus in the next few months. I know I can't measure my life in terms of the butterfly effect; otherwise, I could never do anything. I can't guarantee what will happen if I do or don't take the vaccine, and taking it is the best thing I can do to keep myself and the people around me safe.