The moment it hit me that this was BAD

As the pandemic progressed, I knew things were getting bad. Covid was spreading across the nation, and president Trump was not responding to the crisis. I started seeing articles about hospitals facing PPE shortages (masks, gowns, etc.), but it didn't really hit me how bad things were until I saw a post regarding a fundraiser. The fundraiser was held by a clothing company (Svaha), known for their fun science-themed clothing. They were raising money to have N95 masks manufactured and sent to hospitals in need. At that moment it hit me: a small clothing company is doing more to provide our hospitals with needed equipment than our government was.I always had an assumption that the US was a first world country with adequate resources to respond to emergencies. In this moment, I realized that the citizens were pretty much on our own, and had to rely on each other for support, instead of the institutions that we expected would fill this role.

Throughout the year, there were many, many disappointing/shocking/disheartening moments, but I remember this being the first one that made me realize we were all adrift. Despite the government's negligent response to the pandemic, there have been so many uplifting stories about people and organizations that have stepped in to help those in need. Without them, many more lives would have been lost.