Dear college student,
Like you, I am very shaken up by the recent events due to COVID-19. Seeing everyone move out all of their things the Friday of spring break gave me the most uneasy, saddest feeling in the world. Worried parents pulled up their cars ready to load all of their child’s possessions into it, and fellow peers sluggishly carried their belongings into the elevator, all with the same depressed, apprehensive and blank expression. None of us knew if we were going to come back to school, and we still do not. If we all had known how bad this crisis was, we all might have hugged each other a little tighter and I little longer before leaving.
I’ve been trying to keep the faith and remain positive in spite of all the constant negative energy and news around me, but this is no easy feat. While I am fortunate to still have the slight possibility of going back to school, many of my friends and other student’s schools have already called it quits. And for those of you who are not returning to your respective colleges, your second homes, I want to tell you I am sorry. I am sorry that this happened to you. I am sorry that you have to adjust to online learning, all while trying to battle the negative news that surrounds us. I am sorry if you are home in an environment that is not the healthiest for you. I am sorry if you are overwhelmed with worries of the future and longing to be back at school with your best friends. But most of all, I am sorry for the seniors. I am sorry that your last semester got cut short, that your final moments and events were cancelled. I am sorry if you aren’t even walking across that stage to receive your diploma with the rest of your class. While it may feel like all of your hard work has gone down the drain, please know it has not. Just because things are not going to turn out the way you wanted them to, does not mean that it will not turn out the way it should. Everything will work out in the end. I see you; I hear you, and I appreciate you. To all the students- I am sorry. You deserve better than this.
While all the cancellations of events and semesters are hard to comprehend, all of this was done for our own good, for the common good. This crisis was already out of hand, but it could have gotten much worse if colleges remained operational. Like you, I am upset to be home. I am losing hope in humanity, in everything really. With each passing day, life seems to get a tad harder. However, this too shall pass. While it may not seem like it, with each day, we are one day closer to this crisis coming to an end. We are one day closer to summer, one day closer to being with our best friends again, for family members stuck abroad to come home, one step closer to the online semester’s end, one step closer to the culmination of the spread of coronavirus, to people finally recovering from this disastrous disease. If you are losing hope, just know thatyou are not alone. We are all in the same boat. So, lean on your friends for support, spend this time at home with your family, take the time to catch up on the hobbies you love to do, but never had the time to do while on campus. Things are going to get better. This will end. There is a quote at the entrance of the student center at my school, The University of Scranton, which reads: “Not where I breathe, but where I love, I live.” While we may not be at school, our friends are always with us. The love for our schools, our communities, our best friends, our second families and second homes never cease. No matter how far we may be, that love will always be carried with us, whether we are on campus or not.
When this is all over, and it will end, may we never take advantage of the things we usually would before. May we always appreciate the hugs of our closest friends, families, and loved ones. May we be grateful for full shelves at the grocery store. May we appreciate the opportunity to get an education and to have the ability to attend class every day. May we be thankful for the freedom we possess while on campus. May we be grateful to be able to go outside, feel the warm sunshine shining our faces, to and say hello to our neighbors. May we know the amount of effort and work that healthcare professionals, teachers, first-responders, restaurant workers, truck drivers, sanitation workers and farmers put in. And finally, may we be grateful for our good health, for normalcy, and for getting through this crisis, together.