Screens have become my greatest constant. They have become a cornerstone for maintaining contact with my loved ones, for completing my first-year studies, for trying (and failing) to feel some semblance of control and value during the pandemic. What has been most difficult about the whole situation is my inability to directly alleviate this rising crisis, due to both institutional/government policies and my own lack of time, already overwhelmed as I am by my coursework. I have been volunteering with student-led COVID-19 initiatives, both local and national, but even then all I’m doing is merely looking at screens over and over again.
Ha D.H. Le
University of Utah School of Medicine