Not All Heroes Wear Capes

With “COVID-19” or “Quarantine in California” plastered on almost every news headline, I’m sure we can all agree that this period in our lives is pretty rough. Being isolated from our everyday-casual activities, along with being unable to see the ones we love everyday as we please was a huge transition for most of us. Especially being incapable of eating inside our favorite restaurants, which must be the worst case of them all. 

For these many reasons, we may think that our lives have been put on hold for the time being. And without a doubt, it truly does feel this way, but this time also serves as something even bigger for many others. 

This pandemic highlighted the dedication of service for all frontline workers whose lives have been put on hold to resume the ones of others. 

My mother, Michelle Rubio, is one of the many courageous frontline workers for this country. She works as a nurse practitioner, which means she’s exposed to patients with and without the virus. 

“It can be scary sometimes,” my mother quotes. “Although it’s my job, it’s different because not only is my health at risk, but so is the family that I come home to everyday.”

COVID-19 has impacted the way all frontline workers perform their jobs. Whether it’s as small of a change as just wearing a mask and gloves to deliver a package, to fully resorting to a virtual appointment rather than a physical one, which makes a huge difference.

“The pandemic affected the way medicine is practiced,” my mother further claimed. “Everyone needs to be technologically examined, even the delivery people, before coming into the office. It takes a big part of my job away.” 

Living through these unprecedented times usually causes us to get caught up in the craze of our lives. We often forget that there are many around us working hard to move us into the future. I’ve used this time to rediscover my gratitude for frontline workers. Appreciation is one of the smallest things I could do, but it, at the least, gives me the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world into a different direction.

“It’s an occupation, but we should appreciate everyone serving on the frontline during this time. It’s exactly as they say it, ‘not all heroes wear capes.”