In just a few weeks, it will officially be one year since I have set foot inside an actual classroom, the longest I have gone since I was three years old. This pandemic has taken away an entire year of our lives, and for many of us it has taken much more. As a second semester junior, I only have one full year of college left and I pray that COVID will not take that from me too. I am writing this short piece just to remind everyone that we are in a global pandemic, so it’s okay to not be entirely okay right now. If you are social distancing correctly, it is incredibly lonely. I am unable to leave my apartment much, haven’t been able to physically be with my friends, and I have only seen my best friend twice since last March when I used to see her every day. I have noticed that a lot of us are being incredibly hard on ourselves, myself included, about how we are coping right now. My work ethic has suffered and, while my grades are fine, I’m not always proud of the work I’m submitting anymore. When I vocalize this to my mom, she always has to remind me that we are surviving and, right now, that’s enough. Don’t feel too bad about any stumbles you are taking during this difficult time, you are doing your best and that is all you can do.
Life sucks right now, I realize that, but one day, hopefully one day soon, it will begin again. Until then, think of all the things to look forward too once all of this is over. I know I’m making a list, and I find it’s the little things I took for granted that I find I am missing the most. Keep up the good work! You are surviving, and that is enough.
Things I can’t wait to do when COVID ends:
-Go to a concert
-Travel to a different country
-Sit in a coffeeshop
-Browse a bookstore for a few hours
-Go to the movies
-Be in the same room as my friends
-Sit in a classroom again
HCXO, Maeve