Reflective Essay Sample about COVID-19 Pandemic

We, as humans, have been through the unthinkable collectively since March 2020. When we talk about the COVID-19 pandemic, we usually do not have a positive perspective of the pandemic itself. As humans, we tend to look at the devastating sides of a pernicious situation instead of looking at the good that has come out of that very situation. While having a catastrophic impact on humanity, this pandemic has shown remarkable demonstrations of selfless service and ethics. 

Selfless service is something that has a subjective meaning with every person. Personally, I consider selfless service to not only be a duty that we must complete; I also believe that a selfless service is an act of opening up one's heart with compassion, love, and kindness towards others, ultimately leading to the actions that we complete to be entirely altruistic. Additionally, I am a firm devotee in defining selfless service as performing a benevolent act without expecting anything in return. Presumably, I also acknowledge that demonstrating acts of selfless service is a way to look at ourselves reflectively as well. 

While thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic, the first word that comes to mind is rarely the idea of selfless service. However, this is not the case. An outstanding example of selfless service during the pandemic can be seen through the hard work of our essential workers. For instance, doctors, nurses, hospital staff, paramedics, vaccine researchers, law enforcement,  firefighters, grocery store workers, etc., around the globe put their own valuable lives at risk to care for those who fell ill at the hands of the virus. They put the safety and well-being of humanity first, rather than their own well-being. Additionally, teachers have outdone themselves in demonstrating selflessness during this pandemic as well. They quickly adapted to the new idea of a "virtual classroom" and worked around the clock to stimulate their students and be there to support their students through these perilous times. These groups of people truly brought out the best side of humanity through this pandemic by demonstrating their acts of selfless service.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ethics is defined as "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad with moral duty and obligation." Just by reading the definition of the word ethics, it is unmistakable that it has a prominent role to play with an act of selfless service. The pandemic has tested humans' abilities to live amongst each other ethically, but yet again, with the power of selflessness and ethics, this was again proven wrong. In hundreds of thousands of cases worldwide, neighbors, families, loved ones, and even strangers cared for one another even if they knew the person for their entire lives or just started speaking to them 5 minutes ago. We also had a moral obligation to keep each other safe during the worldwide pandemic by wearing our masks properly and getting vaccinated as well. Clearly, it is evident that ethics has a significant role to play when performing an act of selfless service.

Over the past two years, we have seen considerable changes in our world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one thing has changed for the better. Selfless service, alongside the idea of ethics, has never been more robust. We, as humans, are growing to be more interconnected with one another every day due to these same actions.