Project 3 – Corinne’s Site

300 Word Draft

In life you gain experimental knowledge when taking advantage of oppurtunities thrown at you.I am grateful for the COVID-19 pandemic. It is something you do not hear often, but it is true. That someone could be grateful for a worldwide shutdown because of a viral disease that wiped out the equivalent to the population of the state of Massachusetts. Even those during the 1918 Flu pandemic would disagree with me. You are probably wondering why someone could appreciate mass suffering. I decided to take the COVID-19 pandemic as a once in a lifetime opportunity to appreciate the simplicity in life. So many people today need constant activity to distract them from their stresses and worries instead of facing them head on. I tried the constant go, go, go and it put me in a position to question my own life. When facing hardship, accepting your loss of control can soothe your perspective. (whether its mentally or situationally)

Well, unlike most of the world I needed a pandemic for my own personal suffering. See, months leading up to school closures, prices in gas dropping, and people wiping pizza boxes down in fear of catching the popular virus. I would have defined myself at that time as a mess. I often call myself a hot mess, but at that time I wouldn’t even consider adding the word ‘hot.’ Almost every hour of everyday was taken up by either school, homework, dance, and work. I could not even take a moment to breathe because I would be late for the next thing.

By facing what the pandemic meant, they survived. They knew that in order to survive they had to take everything with caution. But by accepting that and understand you don’t have control, you can have a positive perspective. What actions make you think this?

I accepted loss of control when I decided to take the pandemic as an opportunity.

800 Word Draft

In 1918, people were used to accepting unfortunate events. At those times, governments restricted some people’s rights. It was natural to be forced to do something. Nowadays, people have the right to just say no. As a society this has helped and harmed us. Dr. Frank Biberstein is one person who couldn’t say no for the sake of his community. He states, “My grandfather was not a big man, so I remember him telling me how hard it was for him to carry the bodies out. He said there was no one else who would or could collect the dead, so the powers–that–be decided that they would get the young men studying to be religious to do the work.” (MLA) I cannot imagine having this burden put on me at this age. I do find it interesting how they chose the men studying religion to carry this burden. Maybe its because they have have a carry other peoples burdens in their career in religion. Mental health was not preveleant at this time so for many people practice in religion was their form of mental health. People who were studying religion were like the student therapists of today’s age. Whenever you think of therapists people have the assumption that they can handle all the stress of others. So maybe that’s why they chose the religion students to do this burden. How does this relate to loss of control? He faced a horrible situation that he could not control. The only option he has was too accept it instead of fighting it. If he kept fighting it then he would have a more negative perspective. By accepting your fate it out of your hands it eases the mind and perspective on life because you realize the only thing you can control is yourself. If you can take control of the things you can control, you loose focus of the things you cannot. His perspective was eased later on in life, as he shares what happened with his daughter. His daughter shares, “I remember how serious he would get when he told this story. It deeply affected him to have seen so much death at such a young age and to have been put in a position to have been around so many sick people. Every time he told the story, he always said he figured he would get the flu and die himself. He did not get sick, though, and survived the whole ordeal.” (MLA) When hearing him discuss what happened to him, he never discusses how hard it was for him. He just pushed through and tried not to think about it too much. It sounds like he shared basic details. Sadly, he had to accept the fact that this was his life and if he got the flu, there was nothing he could do personally. Although, this can be saddening accepting that this flu was out of his control. Might have saved him. When your body is under tremendous stress, this can put you at greater risk of getting ill. By accepting this was out of his control, he had less stress, and a lesser chance of getting ill. Transition into next paragraph.

Project 3 Essay

Corinne Frazier

Professor Jesse Miller

ENG 110

May 1^st, 2022

A Reminder to Be Grateful

Months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I complainedto my therapist about my yearning for the world to stop. Weirdly enough, the world stopped dead in its tracks, and history repeated itself. Almost 100 years ago, the 1918 flu pandemic affected the world just like we know it today. When I entered the pandemic, I realized this would never happen to me again. So, instead of focusing on all the negatives of the COVID-19 pandemic. I decided to take it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to appreciate the simplicity of life. However, not everyone had this perspective or experience. Such as Dr. Frank Biberstein lived through the 1918 flu and was able to reflect on his hardships and enter his first year of college. His experience of recognizing uncontrollable circumstances also happened to one of my classmates Peter, whose first year of college was also a painful experience. Accepting the loss of control can soothe one’s perspective when facing hardship.

In 1918, the government had more restrictive rights compared to modern times. Citizens had less personal control over their lives, and it was natural to do something unwillingly. As our society has developed over the last one hundred years, people feel and have the right to say no. This has helped and harmed us in the long run because when someone says no, they choose not to accept the situation given. In some cases, this is very important and empowering to an individual. However, if nothing is possible to change the situation, it will only frustrate their perspective.

Biberstein is one person who could not say no for the sake of his community. When the 1918 flu pandemic hit, he started his first year in religious studies at Saint Joseph in Pennsylvania. The ‘upper powers’ decided seminarians would bear with those who had passed from the flu in his community.

His son describes his account, “What was so dramatic about his story and why I found it so unforgettable was the description he gave of a task assigned to the young men attending the seminary. They would walk with a horse-drawn cart down the streets collecting the dead. My grandfather said that he and a couple of other seminarians would call out and announce their presence as they slowly walked down the street. Someone would call back to them here and there, and they would take turns going into the homes to collect the bodies. Once they retrieved a few bodies, they would return to a makeshift field hospital. They would do these several hours a day, and he did it for most of the semester, though I can′t be sure exactly how long it was. My grandfather was not a big man, so I remember him telling me how hard it was for him to carry the bodies out. He said no one else would or could collect the dead, so the powers–that–be decided that they would get the young men studying to be religious to do the work.” (Kendall)

As a freshman in college, I cannot imagine having to carry this burden, especially against my will. Biberstein left home to pursue a career in religion and ends up carrying dead bodies across town. He faced a horrible beginning to the start of college and did not have a say in the matter. The only option he had was to accept it instead of fighting it. If he kept fighting it, he would have a more negative perspective. By accepting your fate is out of your hands, it eases the mind and perspective on life because you realize the only thing you can control is yourself.

One of my classmates, Peter, can relate to this. When the pandemic hit, he was at Eckerd College on Florida’s gulf coast, unable to do anything but sit in his dorm room. When it came for Peter to go home, he found out he had contracted covid and was instructed to remain at school. He describes the horrible experience of having to tell his girlfriend he would miss their plans for winter break. “I realized that now I had to call everyone back home and tell them that I could not come home, not for a while. I did not know what to say or where to start. I felt like I had let everyone down. The plans I and my girlfriend had been working on for months were now destroyed, and I knew she would not blame me, but she had experienced a terrible few months as I had, and I knew that the news would crush her. The phone sat on my desk next to my keyboard, ready to pour more steaming pain on my wound if I dared to pick it up. Making those calls was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It didn’t get easier between calls and no one’s words of comfort reached me at all.” (Hennessy)

I can relate to Peter in this scenario. I was in a serious relationship during the pandemic. It was a constant struggle to see my at-the-time boyfriend, especially when I decided to return to school. We decided not to see each other until we were both vaccinated as a safety measure. It was about eight weeks without seeing the person I loved. So, I can only imagine what Hennessy went through. What I did to make it easier for me was accept my situation. As a result, I was able to focus on the positives and control what I could. Like making sure we facetime more frequently or take the time to ask about each other’s day, including reminding myself that this is only temporary. Everyone in hardship struggles to accept it, and it can take a long time.

Accepting fate can soothe one’s frantic perspective on hardship. Biberstein’s perspective was eased later in life, as he shares what happened with his daughter. His daughter shares, “I remember how serious he would get when he told this story. It deeply affected him to have seen so much death at such a young age and been put in a position to have been around so many sick people. Every time he told the story, he always said he figured he would get the flu and die himself. He did not get sick, though, and survived the whole ordeal.” (Kendall)

When hearing his daughter discuss what happened to Biberstein, he never discusses how hard it was for him. He just pushed through and tried not to think about it too much. It sounds like he shared basic details. Sadly, he had to accept that this was his life, and if he got the flu, there was nothing he could do personally. Although this can be saddening, accepting that this flu was out of control might have saved him. When your body is under tremendous stress, you are at greater risk of getting ill. Accepting this was out of his control gave him less stress and a lesser chance of getting ill.

Hennessy introduces his essay by reflecting on the hardships he faced,“None of us have any real control over what comes at us. For every single human being, there are a million “perfect storms” that could come true at any moment and make life a great deal more difficult, less enjoyable, or just an all-around painful experience. Moreover, there is nothing we can do about it. It inside of 6 months ago that a perfect storm started brewing for me, came my way, and put my ship through rough seas.” (Hennessy)

Hennessy recognizes that he had no control over his situation and that life will always hit us with different things. It is about how you push through to get to the happy ending when getting through hardships. One way being resilient can be a little easier is to accept there is nothing you can do to change your situation.

Unlike most of the world, I needed a pandemic for my suffering. See, months leading up to school closures, prices in gas dropping, and people wiping pizza boxes down in fear of catching the famous virus. I would have defined myself at that time as a mess. However, my outlook on the pandemic made surviving a little easier. By Biberstein and Hennessy facing what the pandemic meant, they survived. They knew that to survive, they had to take everything with caution. However, you do not have control; you can have a positive perspective. With everything that approaches in my life, I try to take it as an opportunity, not a hassle. It can help you push through and come out stronger on the other side, even in hardships.

Work Cited:

Dr. Frank Biberstein | Pandemic Influenza Storybook | CDC. 21 Sept. 2018, https://www.cdc.gov/publications/panflu/stories/plantings_biberstein.html.