Opinion | Get used to the new normal

Maddie Malich, sophomore screenwriting major

When I decided to move to Orange this summer from Washington State, I knew I would need to find some sort of income, pandemic or not. I could have looked for online, remote employment, but in-person work is in high demand, and I needed a job quickly. So I decided to sacrifice safety for convenience and took the first job I could get as a cashier at Marshalls. However, as I became accustomed to my work environment, it began to dawn on me that everything in the workplace that I understand as normal — the masks, the temperature checks, and the constant sanitation procedures — is far from it. 

I know most of my coworkers by what they look like with masks on, so I’ve become accustomed to reading expressions based only on their eyes. With your friends and family — people you knew before March 2020 — you can imagine what their facial expressions look like behind the mask. But with my coworkers, I find myself unsettled to catch a glimpse of their unmasked faces in the breakroom, like I’m suddenly seeing them naked in the workplace. 

It’s almost like we’re living in a parallel world where normal is just a little bit different and a lot more demanding. But it’s not just because of the masks. While it can be frustrating to interact with my coworkers in a socially distanced world, it’s even more frustrating when I need to interact with customers who think this problem comes from the masks instead of the virus itself. I’ve noticed a lot of people act as though not wearing masks is some twisted symbol of bravery, like they’re successfully protesting the virus by walking in the store without it or sneakily slipping it off when they think employees aren’t looking. 

But that’s not the case at all. 

Think of it this way: if a business has a sign that says “No shirt, no shoes, no service,” you wouldn't walk in naked and call everyone a sheep when they ask you to leave. By not abiding by practices that keep us safe, you’re not protesting society; you’re endangering and inconveniencing a business and everyone that works there. It’s absurd how little people think about others when they don’t want to wear their mask. 

At this point, I’ve heard every excuse in the book. I even watched a woman claim to my boss that she can’t think when she’s wearing one, as if her ability to produce and articulate thoughts was rendered useless when she had a piece of fabric covering her nose and mouth. 

I can’t stop people from going shopping, and I can’t dictate how careful people should be about the virus, but I can make them wear a mask when they’re in my store. Respecting other people does not make you a sheep. So if that’s the hill you want to die on, maybe you shouldn’t go shopping in person.

We can’t just force society to go back to “normal,” because unfortunately right now, this is our normal. We just have to live in it.