For six months, I have not spent a long period of time with my friends. I have not shopped at the mall, or sat in a restaurant, or gone on vacation. The only social setting that I’ve been in has been the grocery store, which is only occasional.

Over spring break, I was supposed to go on a cruise, but it was cancelled because of COVID-19. I was supposed to spend the summer at cheer camp, getting to know the girls I am mentoring this year, and going on trips with my family. However, I gave it all up to ensure my family’s health and safety.

After scrolling through Instagram and tapping through endless Snapchat stories since March, it seems that most people didn’t get the memo that a global pandemic is occurring. I’ve rarely seen masks worn or six feet between people in photos or videos. 

Around the globe, people are suffering from the hardships that the present pandemic has caused, ranging from loss of income to racking up large amounts of hospital bills to death. Are social lives truly more important than others’ health and safety, or even your own?

With students being allowed on campus more often for sports, HUB time, and soon, in-person classes during the hybrid model of learning, students need to start being safer by following the recommendations set forth by health professionals around the world. Social distancing, frequent washing hands, and proper mask wearing needs to be practiced by students to limit the spread of COVID-19 as much as possible. 

If you do spend time with others outside of your household, follow the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines. By doing so, you are not only protecting your own life, you are protecting those around you. As many students go back on campus soon, remember that following safety guidelines outside of school is protecting the health of faculty, other students, and their families.

Many students that have been spending time with others without following safety guidelines are the ones that have decided to return to school next month to participate in the hybrid model, which is endangering the entirety of the others that spend time on campus. 

Teachers will see students almost everyday, meaning that those teachers could potentially expose others to the virus, or be exposed. Some students who will be going back have no other option, as they have struggled academically or they have issues with their resources at home that will cause them to need to be on-site for school. Basically, students need to practice safety for their well-being, as well as others on campus.

To get the pandemic under control soon, more students need to sacrifice part of their social lives in person. Limit the amount of time you spend with others without a mask on in public spaces as much as possible. It could save so many lives, and perhaps, the world could more quickly go back to the way it was before COVID-19 was discovered.