Since mid-March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has consistently altered the lives of men, women, and children alike. It has seized a child’s ability to go to school without a mask, taken the jobs and income of hard-working adults, and replaced the meaning of “normal” with an entirely different definition. Ultimately, it has proven to be a mark of consistent change. And while it has succeeded in reshaping some of the more basic functions society relies on, there is one key aspect of life that COVID-19 cannot fully eliminate: the ability to make life itself.
Heidi Melendez is one woman of many across the world who found themselves pregnant during the height of the pandemic. Amidst all of the commonplace terror associated with the virus and its aftermath, COVID-19 took her own personal fears one step further when she realized just how different the world would be when she finally gave birth. However, she also recognized that there was one thing that would impact the arrival of her daughter more than COVID-19 already had: the way she chose to respond to it.
By Brenna Brown