It’s no secret that COVID-19 has disrupted a lot of our lives. Students had their semester cut short and have been uprooted from their lives, forcing many of us to move back home. For many, this has caused a lot of frustration. Freshmen who had just gotten their first taste of independence have had that taken away. Sophomores who were finally adjusted to their new life away from home had to stop right when they were feeling acquainted. Juniors who were interning and working through an important semester had to put a halt on it all. Most importantly, seniors who have worked for years to walk across the stage and be recognized for their efforts had that honor taken from them. While we all know that there are people out there with worse problems than us, it’s still a big change that we’ve all had to adapt to.
I moved back home in March, after expecting to finish out the semester and my internship on campus and in my apartment. However, that quickly changed when UCF was forced to close its campus. At first, I was pretty frustrated. I was also nervous about having to move home, because I didn’t want to have to adjust to anyone else’s lifestyle besides my own. But, before I went back, I thought about it a lot. I realized that as much of a disruption it was to my life, it was also a big change for my parents. They’ve been empty-nesters since I left 3 years ago. They love having their kids home, but they’ve adjusted to their own new normal since we’ve been gone. I thought about the circumstances and decided it was really important that I respect their space if I wanted them to respect mine. This was the best decision I could have made because I believe it impacted my time back home for the better.
As someone who has had her fair share of arguments with her parents, I felt that I enjoyed my time at home more than I expected to. I spent every day with my mom, finding projects to do and going on bike rides, and I loved getting that time with her. I think it made us closer than we already were. At the end of the day I’d enjoy a home-cooked meal with her and my dad, and we’d have a great night. I say all of this to emphasize the point that in times of fear and uncertainty, it makes a big difference to look for the positives. Changing your perspective on something that seems like such an inconvenience can alter how bad the situation becomes. It would’ve been easy for me to go home with a bad attitude and have a miserable two months. Had I sat around thinking about what I was missing, it would have made COVID-19 a hell of a lot harder than it has been. I’m happy that years from now when I look back on this historic time, I will have something positive to say about it.