Julia Sanbe Malvern, Pennsylvania
What it’s like in Pennsylvania
Hi everyone! My name is Julia Sanbe, and I am the art director for the Miami Hurricane. I am currently a freshman at the U studying creative advertising and motion pictures in the School of Communication.
I am originally from Malvern, Pennsylvania, which is about 30 minutes away from Philadelphia. Pennsylvania currently has the tenth highest number of cases in the U.S. My county, Chester County, has the seventh highest number of reported coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania. We are close neighbors to the county with the highest number of cases in Pennsylvania, Montgomery County.
Montgomery County was really the start of the rapid spread of the virus within our state because a doctor working at Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania satellite facility came into work while carrying the virus and transmitted it to his coworkers and patients. I was a frequent pateient of the Children’s Hospital of Boston when I was a kid, so this case absolutely breaks my heart, and my heart goes out to all patients and parents affected while just trying to get the best pediatric care possible. It just goes to show how much everyone has an individual responsibility during this crisis.
As you could expect, all non-essential businesses have been shut down, which is essentially any business that is not a pharmacy or grocery store. I have pretty bad asthma, so it is absolutely important that I stay at home and that those around me continue to do the same. I’m only quarantined with my family, and both my mom and my dad are working from home.
My mom works for the IT department at Temple University, so the pandemic has been especially stressful for her as she’s had to assist in Temple’s transition to online learning. With all this time at home, I’ve been keeping myself busy with classes and closely monitoring updates on the pandemic.
In terms of fun ways I have been keeping myself busy, I have been playing an insane amount of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on my Nintendo Switch. The mellow music, cute animals and positive vibe of the game make it both incredibly relaxing and a fantastic break away from the craziness of the pandemic. I absolutely recommend Animal Crossing for anyone needing to take a break and focus on self care during quarantine.
In addition, quarantine has given me the much needed time to get creative. While I am usually drawing for classes and the newspaper, I can now take time to draw for fun too.
I am also enjoying access to a full kitchen after months of just having a microwave. Last year I discovered that I really enjoyed cooking, so quarantine has also given me the chance to cook for my family and make fun or interesting recipes. I’ve also extended this pasttime into baking by making a ton of yummy cakes.
We will get through this together, and I hope that my blog can provide you with knowledge or even maybe entertainment during time.
Click on another area to read more of our correspondent’s blogs:
