Have you ever wondered how much time and hard work goes into construction? Well, it's most likely the most physically demanding job out there and one of the most dangerous even before a pandemic. The tools and resources that are used to build tiny apartments to soaring skyscrapers are very costly and now with the Covid-19 virus spreading, city plans have been delayed and scrapped which has led to the loss of affordable housing and has caused people to be left with nowhere to live. My dad is an architect for a construction company called Green Way Partners in Humboldt County and has had many plans forgotten or delayed because of how Covid has affected our way of life and the challenges of having to work from home. Since Covid has started, they have completed about two major projects but both were completed months later than expected. I think as a community we take construction companies and workers for granted. We drive or walk by them almost every day and complain about if something isn't done early or may be delayed and isn't finished on the original date. A lot of contracting for new buildings or parks have been moved to zoom meetings online because of the risk of contact and spreading the virus so lots of people who do that sort of thing have to be cooped up at home. A lot of people including my dad have had to do this daily at home which has ruined his daily routine like biking to work and getting lunch with his co-workers. I had to be at home most of last year because of our distance learning so I understand what he had to go through, for me I didn't mind getting to do school in bed but for him being on meetings 24/7 wasn't his first choice. I recently interviewed him about how working from home felt and how it affected their projects, “In a sense, it hasn't personally affected me long term but it has affected my company because everything has slowed down dramatically and everything takes a lot longer.” His company has lost a lot of employees because of these difficulties and how everything has become less efficient. I also asked him if it was challenging working at home, “No it wasn't too bad, I was still able to use my computer at home and if the internet was working then it was almost like working at the office but it did come with some challenges like having an attention-craving cat and dog. My dad's situation wasn't too bad from his perspective, it was nice having him home with me and us getting to have lunch together when during a usual day he would be in Arcata and I would be in school. One of the projects he designed the sky-walk at sequoia park was the big quarantine project. I remember him putting hours and hours into putting the pieces for it together and having technical difficulties here and there. A few months later it was finally completed, we got a private viewing of it and it was amazing seeing him so happy to have finally finished it and get to experience it. His position as an architect is much different than everyday construction workers, but if projects are delayed or scrapped that leaves workers without pay so the difficulties that affect a position like my dad will then affect those workers. Today most jobs have reopened and everything is mostly back to running smoothly, the virus is still very much around and lots of people are still getting it including a lot of my friends and teammates so everyone should still be careful and aware of it. My dad has been back to the office for a while now and has gotten to see his co-workers again after having only gotten to see them on a computer for months. He has told me that things have been running a lot smoother and that they have been working on a multi million-dollar project which could be his final project leading into retirement since it will take a few years but he's not sure if retirement will be his thing since he's always been an active person so will see. Construction is probably the top 5 most important industries, we wouldn't have giant cities or skyscrapers that people recognize us for, we wouldn't have football stadiums or gyms like the one being built at our high school as we speak, and we wouldn't have movie theaters and other entertainment. Some construction plans may be more important than others but it is an industry that leads us into the future and since the Covid-19 pandemic has hit the industry has taken a hit and it's good to see that it's starting to finally get back to normal.