Wear your masks. (Photo Provided via Google under the Creative Commons License)
Wear your masks. (Photo Provided via Google under the Creative Commons License)

The real benefits of masks

An essay that I submitted to the OC Health Care Agency's 2020 Mask Message Contest.

January 10, 2022

I’m sure many of us have heard over and over, “Wear your masks! Help prevent the spread of COVID-19!” But let’s be real, this overused directive barely catches people’s attention anymore and hardly motivates anyone to wear a mask. 

Let’s look at it in a different way. Let’s look past the fact that both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recommend cloth masks for the general public. Let’s disregard how Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the CDC, said that the nationwide use of face masks could significantly slow the spread of COVID-19. Let’s overlook the fact that masks have been proven to reduce viral transmission of the virus that has already afflicted over 307.5 million people worldwide. 

Instead let’s appreciate masks for what they really are: amazing lifesavers.

For example, let’s say that you aren’t looking too hot. Maybe you’re in a rush and don’t have time to put on that last bit of lipstick. Maybe you’re too lazy and forgot to shave. (Sorry ladies, you know who you are.) Well with masks, you don’t have to worry! If you put one on, people can’t see the bottom half of your face. It’s like putting on a hat when you’re too lazy to fix your hair. Just put a mask on when you’re going out in public, and call it a day. 

Don’t like someone? Is the sight of a certain fellow coworker or classmate enough to agitate you? Well, don’t worry. You can scoff all you want. No one can see your reaction behind your mask!

Feeling a bit antisocial? Don’t worry. With a mask on, it’s a million times easier to avoid the occasional greeting from a stranger on the street. And you also don’t even have to smile at people because they can’t tell if you’re smiling or just squinting your eyes!

Forgot to brush your teeth? Or did one of your peers forget to brush their teeth? Thankfully, no one will notice anyone’s breath with a mask on! 

Is there food stuck in your teeth, and you don’t have any floss handy? Rest assured, your mask will cover for you. 

And on top of all of that, wearing a mask is the easiest and most practical way to reduce the risk of catching and spreading the world’s deadliest modern virus.

I think it’s safe to say that masks are the way to go.

This is an essay that I submitted to the OC Health Care Agency’s 2020 Mask Message Contest. According to their website, the instructions were: “In 300–400 words, persuade people that wearing a mask is without a doubt the only way to go – students are encouraged to use their imaginations, and may base their writing on personal experience, scientific research, fictional characters or anything else they want.”

Did I win? No. But it’s still definitely worth the read.

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