Traveling for the holidays is something many people have done, whether it’s to visit family or just to travel somewhere, but traveling for most people has come to a halt due to COVID-19. So for this year’s holiday season, many families are going to be spending time at home – but not the Showers family. Junior Valerie Showers and her uncle Brendan Johnson are going to be driving to Illinois for three to four days to visit their aunt for Christmas.

“Despite the risk of COVID-19, we as a family decided we were still going to go because family’s really important to us,” Showers said. “We decided as long as we take the necessary precautions to just go ahead and go, because you never know how long you will have someone in your life and I think it’s important to spend as much time with the people you care about as you can.”

While going places and traveling can be dangerous in the times of COVID-19, there are things people can do in order to stay safe and healthy. These include staying six feet apart, washing hands after on a regular basis and wearing masks correctly in public.

“We plan on doing the necessary steps to keep us, our family and everyone else safe,” Johnson said. “We’re going to be hand sanitizing, washing our hands consistently with soap and water and staying at the house most of the time, but when we do go out we’re going to be wearing our masks properly and staying six feet apart from people and anyone who’s showing symptoms will not be joining us except for virtually.”

Though COVID-19 is scary and can be dangerous, it’s not the only danger or complication there is when traveling, especially when you’re driving and you’re somewhere new and don’t know the area very well.

“Yes, COVID-19 is a concern, but there are other  concerns that are also a really big concern when we travel despite the distance,” Johnson said. “Like the fact that I’m personally really bad at keeping my eye on the gas and I’m nervous that I might not pay attention to my gas enough and run out of gas no where near a gas station”

Showers and her uncle feel there are safe ways to travel while making everyone feel safe. 

“Is there a chance you could travel and get it, yes, but you could also stay home and get it,” Showers said. “Even when you’re not at home you can still follow all the necessary steps to try to prevent you or a loved one from getting COVID-19.”

After being stuck inside by yourself, a lot of people are not able to go to work, school, the store or a friend’s house. Having the feeling of being trapped, and desperately wanting to get out and do something other than sit inside by yourself can be a big possibility.  

“I’m ready to get out of the house, I’m tired of feeling stuck inside and not being able to do anything or see anybody,” Showers said. “I’m ready for a somewhat normal Christmas with my family.”