My family and I throughout the Coronavirus

     Before the Coronavirus outbreak, my family lived an ordinary life just like any other Chinese American family in communities around the US. I love my family and I always feel proud of my family since my dad is always very persistent at his work, and my mom is an awesome woman, pushing through times to suit all of our family’s needs. My little brother is very loving and adorable, and is always very helpful to me whenever I need anything, although he can be annoying at times. I feel extremely lucky to have a family like this and I would never swap lives with another kid. ​

     During this coronavirus pandemic, lives have changed around the world tremendously. Washington State is currently under lockdown, schools are canceled, I can’t meet my friends in person, and a ton of other things. Those were just some examples of things that have changed. I also miss my regular life. Sure, it’s good being out of school, but I miss swimming 24/7, meeting friends each day at school. Because of this, I feel lonely without meeting anyone. Instead of doing all those things, we have to quarantine ourselves at home for our own and other people’s safety. Plus, President Trump’s calling the coronavirus/ COVID-19 the “Chinese Virus” has made more and more people each day shame and hate Chinese people, although most people probably have done nothing like that. I think it’s worth mentioning that my family did our part to help fight the coronavirus: we donated medical masks and money to our local hospitals, so that doctors and patients both have masks. 

     As a 5th grader, I’m doing what I can to help during this pandemic. My brother and I donated money out of our own bank accounts to support this cause. I think that is something vital we have to do in order to support our community and help our front line heroes. Although a horde of terrible and tragic things are happening in this world, I think that in this bad period of time, at least one good thing is happening: bonds between my family and probably most families around the world are tightening. Siblings and relatives that haven’t talked to each other in years talk together and ask how everyone is doing. As for my family, all of this doesn’t change my view. Instead, I think my whole family has become stronger than ever; we make efforts to support each other through this dark period of time. I ENJOY the love of my family!

     My feelings, views and love for my family will not change despite the coronavirus, and will instead continue to grow stronger. I will remember how my family supported each other to fight through and survive those times, how we were able to avoid the virus,. Feeling proud, I will love my family even more because we were able to stand on each other’s shoulders and carry on. Although this is a horrible, tragic, and painful virus, maybe God sent us this to tighten our bonds with our families.

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Jerry Xu is a fifth-grader at Sunrise Elementary.