The lesson of coronavirus

For my college graduate whose graduation ceremonies will most likely not happen, and my other kid who is now online and vacating her school, I think it will be the best lesson of their lives …how privilege can be taken away in an instant. A privilege to learn, to travel, to breathe…many people have never been on an airplane or ever lived in a dorm room. As a pediatrician, I am surrounded by worried families. Tell your kids that we’re all in this together, this is the time to use their youth and creativity to spark good-although they may not have our wisdom, they are not locked in an adult mindset of how things “should be.” There is much to be done-an economy to revive, cures to be found. Somehow they have been blessed with an illness that is kinder to the young. The time they have ahead of them may look different than what they expected, but it is the same…full of hope and promise that they will use their energy and creativity for the greater good.

Naline Lai, MD

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