This semester at Lafayette College has been so vastly different from any other semester in the school’s history. All of us are finally back on campus for the first time in nearly a year, but it is certainly not the same place we left behind in March 2020. We’ve had to adjust to new rules, wear masks, eat limited food options, and surprisingly take walks. Since the first day we all got back to campus, there were no usual hanging outs in dorms, getting dinner, or catching up with friends we hadn’t seen in a while. Normal activities were no longer possible.
Operating in level three meant that all we could really do was be outside with one or two friends. So, taking a walk around the campus was the only real option for any social interactions. And for this reason, during the first few weeks of classes, I’ve seen more of the campus on my walks than I had in my previous two years at Lafayette. For example, I walked all the way up Hamilton Street to a beautiful park I’d never seen where some kids were sledding. I trekked all the way down Parsons Street, the street where I live, but as I kept going and looped all the way down Cattell Street, I ended up finding some beautiful buildings and houses. We stumbled upon McKelvy House, which I knew was there since freshman year, but I never saw it up close before. What’s even more interesting is how quickly the whole campus hopped onto the “taking a walk” trend. Within days of being back, receiving texts saying “wanna go for a walk” was completely normal, while it was never something that happened before COVID hit. Going on walks so quickly just became the way we all hung out.
It seems like every activity has been replaced with going on a walk; there really is nothing else to do, and it’s in our culture now. But will it be one of those things that remain when COVID finally leaves us, or will it be another thing of the past, like whipped coffee, the lack of toilet paper, and watching Tiger King? Will I stop taking these COVID walks tomorrow, next year, or maybe never?