Given all the challenges of independent life, this new situation with the coronavirus scared me a bit, but then I told myself that panic just makes everything worse and adds to the stress, which is not something I need more of in my life. I have been diagnosed with diabetes eight years ago and stress is definitely not good for me. That doesn’t mean I’m not afraid.
That’s why I follow all the coronavirus developments and all the instructions from doctors on how to protect myself and help slow down the spread of the disease. I have been much calmer since I decided to always keep up to date with all the information.
One recent Sunday morning, we were woken up at 6:23 by an earthquake so strong that the entire building shook. I didn’t realize what was going on at first, because we were all asleep when the earthquake began. I was shocked and I thought I was still dreaming until I heard my roommate yelling about an earthquake. I picked up my mobile phone and then my roommate and I found a safe place in the apartment next to a load-bearing wall. I was worried about my boyfriend and parents and I called all of them to make sure they were OK. After the earthquake, my roommate and I dressed in warm clothes and went out to be in a safe place outside in case of a strong aftershock. We were scared of the earthquake and coronavirus both, because we were all strongly advised to stay at home and not congregate in groups, where the virus spreads easily from one person to the next. Nevertheless, we left the apartment because it was the safer option and we made sure to stay away from other
people and other buildings too, to avoid debris falling from damaged buildings.
Fortunately, my part of the city was spared heavy damage. The situation calmed down later on, but there were many smaller aftershocks throughout the day. Eventually we all went back inside, but we were still anxious about another earthquake the next morning. I started to think about being prepared for another such emergency. I packed a bag with basic necessities (bottle of water, warm clothes, phone charger, personal documents) and I placed it near the apartment door. I also saved important emergency numbers that TV was broadcasting during the day in my phone contacts, because they can be helpful in situations like these.
