My dad gave me a white t-shirt with a drawing of his old high school Petrus Ky in Vietnam, and on it are scribbled “Còn đây có bao ngày”, which translates to “How many days are left?”. Every year, he attends his high school reunion, but recently over the pandemic, less people were showing up because more of his friends started passing away after fighting COVID for too long. As a result, he had to attend more solemn funerals these past couple years and further realize how much of a hold the pandemic has had on his life. The words on the shirt are supposed to show how our days are numbered and that we need to make the most out of it and the people that are involved. 

I first learned this when my father was infected with COVID back in the early stages of the pandemic. As a healthcare worker, he was extremely preoccupied with the amount of cases coming into the hospital, which put him at a high risk of infection. He stayed at home and tried to fight off the disease that way until he was admitted into the ICU. I could not visit due to the risk of infection, so I only got to talk to him over the phone when he was bound to a hospital bed and hooked up to a ventilator. After he recovered, I became eternally grateful for our healthcare system and proud that my father is a part of it

My grandmother is another person that I began to appreciate more during the pandemic. She lives in Costa Mesa, and despite living far away, she often drives up to visit and cook pleasant, delicious meals for us. Knowing how vulnerable someone like her is to COVID really opened my eyes to how lucky I am to have someone like her, and I made an effort to make sure my grandmother knows that I love her. Whether it was through spending more time with her or giving her hugs and kisses, I made sure that she would go back home with a smile on her face. 

This pandemic really showed me that when it took away so many pleasures that I had. With infection rates skyrocketing, I had to miss out on the annual family ski trips that I always enjoyed and the large family gatherings we would have on someone’s birthday. Now, I have to worry about helping my parents protect their business during this critical period and the people that I love who are also at high risk. But at the same time, it opened my eyes to the things and people that I took for granted, helping me grow as a person. Now, I wear that shirt everywhere I go with a glowing sense of pride and the wisdom that I received.