The end of my sophomore year was not what I expected. I expected to end with my friends and the stress of finals, all in my closet size dorm room. I was so wrong. I ended the year in my house that was two hours away from campus, clinging to the zoom lectures to help prepare me for finals. With that being said, I was able to end the semester with a 3.9, which boosted my average GPA to where it needed to be. I thought I was going to be okay. We were going to go back to school in August with some new rules, but most were going to go back to normal. This wasn’t the case because at the end of July, as I was dorm room shopping, I received the email that I never wanted. Susquehanna was going to move the classes in by phases of two weeks in between. This was better than the alternative, which was staying remote all semester, but it was still heartbreaking.
I adapted. I adapted to the remote learning and zoom lectures. I adapted to being able to work for an extra month, after working for 5 months beginning at the start of the pandemic. I have yet to adapt to missing my friends though. We were supposed to start our junior year together. We were supposed to be able to laugh and cry together in someone’s dorm room. Even though I have adapted to classes online, I can never adapt to my junior year experience starting online. I love my school more than a lot of things. It has brought me to my best friends, new experiences, and a new sense of maturity. I feel that I can talk on behalf of a lot of students when I say I miss being at Susquehanna. I miss trying to find a parking spot all the way across campus because there were none by my residence hall. I miss the Walmart runs at 10 PM because we decided we were going to make cookies. I miss the squirrels that would throw acorns at you from the trees. I miss everything. I will never take being in a classroom for granted ever again. Even though a lot has changed this year, with new protocols and rules, I still miss the environment of Susquehanna University.
Please do the River Hawk community a favor, and follow the rules. Wear your mask and social distance. We all want to be back on campus in a safe and healthy manner.