Reality For Some College Students During Covid

College is a massive change from high school, pandemic or not, but as a college student during a pandemic I can whole heartedly share that it has certainly been a roller coaster. Growing up I always thought college was going to be this magical place where I’m going to know how to do everything and I’m going to meet super amazing people that I’ll be friends with forever. It was just one of those things that I glorified because I needed something to keep me sane.

My shift into college life from high school was, and still is, incredibly rough. At first it was rough because I had to adjust to being three hours ahead of my time zone at home. Then it was rough trying to figure out where everything was and how long it took to get from point a to point b. Then it got rough when my family left and school actually started. Most of my classes are online and the classes I have that are in person I’m not able to talk to them so the only friends I had here were my family but now they’re gone too. 

As time went by I noticed that a lot had changed and I was a much different person compared to who I was when I had just moved. From my eating and sleeping habits to my appearance to my mental state, it had all changed, some for better and others for worse. I was slowing slipping back into my old habits that I had spent years breaking. 

I’m not the most social person and I prefer a couple people or being alone to a large group but I’m reaching a point of I wish I could be with a large group of people. Thankfully though I’m still a little hopeful that this won’t last for too much longer and I’ll be able to make friends with people in my classes and I’ll get to spend more time doing things and making memories. Even though its been a thunderstorm in a convertible with a broken top I can’t say that I haven’t been grateful for all of this time and space to figure myself out without everyone else's input. Through the course of the pandemic, March to October currently, I’ve learned a lot about myself and been able to grow as a person as well. 

Clearly it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for me but not everyone has had a rough pandemic and that’s totally okay! The pandemic has altered at least one aspect of everyones life and for some people it was the best thing that could have happened which is super cool. So yeah, sure, not everyone had the same pandemic experience but at the end of the day we all did experience the pandemic and that alone is enough to make things just a bit easier. 

One of my friends that lives in South Carolina, her name is Brianna, she has had some of the most amazing times of her life because of the opportunities this pandemic presented her. She has been able to get a full time job, move into her own apartment, and get her dog back from the animal shelter because before the pandemic she wasn’t financially stable enough to keep him. She was also able to find a group of people that she truly connects with and is able to be open and honest with. She had the chance to have hard conversations with some people who wronged her and vice versa which opened her eyes up to a number of things. Overall her pandemic memories are good and full of growth in many ways which makes me glad that the pandemic did bring light into some lives.

This is me now, in October, month 7 of the pandemic:

This is me on the last Friday before the lockdown began: 

It may seem cheesy, even a little silly or stupid, but even though I look happier before I know that I wasn’t. Even though I don’t look as smiley as I did before I’m now content with myself and slowly working towards wearing the things I want to wear confidently. There has been a lot of hardship and struggle during Covid but there have certainly been some beautiful things that came from it as well. 

If it was possible I would wish for another pandemic, just without the virus and death part. I suppose a 7 month vacation would be one way of putting it.

Living In A Dorm Alone Because of Covid

I got lucky and unlucky with this situation for sure. When I was choosing what dorm to live in I chose a 2 person dorm meaning I would share a room with one other person which is perfect because I’m not very social but I’ll have a friend. For roommate selection I chose to be put with a random person and I was given a roommate. Her and I talked briefly a couple times about random things and until I moved in I believed I was going to have a roommate. Surprise unfortunately, I don’t have a roommate.. or a neighbor. 

Move in week came about so I moved all my stuff in and kept everything tucked towards one side because obviously my roomie was going to want her space. Move in week ends, no one shows up. First week of school goes by and still no one. Eventually I ran into my RA and she told me that it was just me in my room and the girl that was supposed to be my neighbor never showed up. I was pretty shocked but also not shocked at all since so much time had passed and nothing had changed.

At first I was a little upset about not having a roommate because I wouldn’t have any friends or anyone to talk to. After a little while I didn’t care too much and was more happy about it than anything. I realized that without a roommate I could put my stuff wherever I wanted it without having to worry about someone moving it or it being in someones space etc. I also realized I wouldn’t have to stress about keeping her up at night since I don’t fall asleep until 4-5 in the morning. 

I was talking to Rachel one day about not having a roommate anymore and I came up with the genius idea to push the two beds together and give myself one big bed. I did it and it has been a spectacular experience so far I will admit. The only downside is that my bed sheets are only big enough for one mattress so I improvised and used an extra sheet and blanket to cover the second mattress, I can’t even tell the difference.

Realistically though, other than the bed, all my stuff stays on one side as if I do share my room and space with another person. Partly because I don’t have very much stuff since I moved across the country via airplane with one suitcase and one carry on but mainly because I shared a room with Rachel back home so I’m used to separated spaces (makes it feel cleaner too if I’m being completely honest).

This is my bed: 

A Mix of Information and Popular Culture During Pandemic

In this generation the use of social media is huge, especially now with Covid. Gen Z uses memes as one way to express our thoughts or emotions in a simple but funny way. With internet humor though “funny” equates to when you’re scrolling through posts and you see one and it makes you exhale harder than normal, not actual verbal laughter (funny can still mean actually laughing it just usually doesn’t). The use of these simple pictures (or videos) keeps everyone connected to one another even during trying times and they help provide each other with support as well when it’s needed. I provided explanations to make them easier to understand but usually if you explain them they stop being funny. 

A few examples of these from the United States would be:

A short explanation of this one would be that colleges and universities should be explaining thoroughly what’s going on with classes and on campus in general. Instead though they haven’t been extremely helpful in providing any information with students when it comes to classes being online or in person or if we should be moving back home for those of us living in dorms, etc. The correlation with the picture is the guy (colleges) is holding hands with his girlfriend (useful information) making it appear like they’re in a good relationship. However he’s checking out another girl (bad information) proving that he isn’t truly doing what his relationship image is saying. Simply put: says he’s doing one thing but is doing another.

This one’s real simple. Schools canceled all the events for students and we’re not allowed to spend time with each other because all of the restrictions but schools are still giving us work to do.

This one is also simple. When the restrictions were put in place by the government a large portion of the U.S. population made it very clear to the government that they would not do that and continued going about their everyday activities as normal (there were also huge protests nation wide against restrictions).

Also simple. People that already spend most of their time chillin by themselves at home think the lockdown will be the same for them as life has always been, just chill in the house. Out going people think it’s going to be going out by themselves, lonely. Social media cracks the lockdown up to be some apocalyptic world. In reality though it was simply weeks of people hoarding and fist fighting over toilet paper because they were scared stores were going to run out of it. 

This one is also simple. When Covid was first a thing everyone was laughing about how it was only going to be a week before things opened back up and then it was two weeks and people laughed about how maybe it was going to be a month. Many jokingly said they hope it lasted all year and unfortunately that’s how it’s gone so far. Now we have all reached a point where Covid memes aren’t very funny anymore and we all just want things to go back to normal.

A few examples from another countrywould be:

These two go hand in hand and are pretty easy to grasp. These are two memes from the United Kingdom about how Queen Elizabeth has been the Queen for what feels like hundreds of years and she’s still healthy and running the country well. The memes joke about how her son and her prime minister both tested positive for Covid but, since she’s been around so long that she has to be immortal, she is in no danger of getting sick or dying. The bottom right portion is joking about how thousands of years from now when no one is alive anymore the Queen will be.

Death in the Family

 On July 21, 2020 I was at Laguna Beach, the Montage, with Mom and Bri. Bri and I were about 50 yards out swimming around and talking, enjoying the water and the perfect weather that day. Mom was sitting on the sand like she always was, her metal knee made cold ocean water pretty painful to be in. Bri and I were flinging our arms about wildly, shouting at her trying to get her attention so we could say hi to her but she wasn’t looking at us. My vision is a -5/20 (basically terrible) and even with contacts in my vision still isn’t very good so I was having a really hard time trying to figure out what was occupying her. After a few minutes I gave up trying to see so I swam closer to shore so I could see what she was doing and she was on the phone. I, feeling the strongest urge to be nosy and bug her, get out of the water and walk up to where she is and stand there looking at her to try and figure out who she was talking to. After a minute goes by she says, “If you guys ever need anything please let us know but I’m also glad the kids were able to see him one last time, I know he was hanging on just so he could see them.” My heart sank and I suddenly wished I would have just minded my own freaking business. I kept a neutral face, waiting for the call to end but looking back I think it was because it hadn’t truly registered with me that he was gone yet. 

Mom hangs up the phone and I ask, “Grandpa died, didn’t he?” She only nodded at me before telling me not to tell my siblings yet and that she would when we got back home. A couple weeks went by and I still hadn’t cried, I didn’t think about it either. I was waiting for the funeral, I knew the reality would sink in there. Unknowingly to me at the time though I wasn’t going to be attending his funeral, I was going to be boarding a plane and moving across the country for college. I didn’t feel any which way about that news, just accepted it as fact and moved on. 

The day to move came and went, so did the following month and a half before I truly thought about it. I didn’t intend to think about it at that point in time though I just had the unfortunate luck of seeing a TikTok about the passing of a loved one watching over you and wanting you to know that they love you. It may sound silly that a strangers video about that made me react so strongly but it did and there’s nothing I can do about it now. 

I watched that video around 3 a.m., I was exhausted and overall I was not in a good mental state. I broke down almost immediately. I missed my Grandpa but I knew he was better off now. He was now free from all of the pain he had endured for so long. He was now able to be with his mom and sister who were killed by a train when he was a child, he could see his father who passed when he was a young teen, he could see his cousin and best friend (my grandma) who died just before I was born, he could see his daughter who passed from cancer two years earlier, he could see all his friends he lost fighting in WWII, and so much more. 

Knowing he was free didn’t make it easier once the realization struck. I wanted to show him how good of a shot I was and get some advice. I wasn’t and I’m still not a perfect shot by any stretch of the imagination but I am a decent one with an average of about 19/25. Since he was basically a perfect shot, shooting 24/25 on a bad day, I felt that was a perfect way to spend time with him and get to do something we both enjoyed. I wanted to hear more stories from him about silly things. I miss just sitting in silence with him. I miss him joking with me and telling me that my parents better buy me a Porshe for my first car because I deserved one even though we both knew I didn’t want one. What I miss the most though is sitting on the garage floor wrapped in a blanket, looking up at him in his chair and watching him smoke his cigars, a smile appearing every once in a while as I tell him all my life events. As strange as it may sound, I miss the smell of his cigars. The scent reminds me exclusively of him and not a thing or person else. 

These photos are the last two pictures I have of him. I took these the last time we saw each other before he passed. I knew he wasn’t going to hold out much longer after this day. He was sick and he had lived a long life and overall he was simply ready, he was just too tired to keep fighting. 

It is crazy though how things change. This is a photo of Grandpa from two years ago and even though that sounds like a long time it truly isn’t. In two years I basically watched him lose all sense of himself before passing away. 

When we went to see him I was pretty nervous. Covid is still around and I was coming in contact with loads of new people everyday because of work. I knew he was already sick at the time but I was afraid I could potentially make him more sick. I hadn’t tested positive before or showed any symptoms but I’m much younger and healthier. When we got there I stayed decently far away from him for a while, just wanting to ensure I wasn’t a threat to his already shaky body. After a little while though I moved closer to him, realizing nothing I did once I got there could prevent him from getting Covid if I had it and truth be told he wasn’t going to live long enough for Covid to do any real damage if he got it. It hurt to think about I’ll admit but at the same time I’m glad I knew that and got the chance to sit next to him and hold his hand. We didn’t stay long, maybe half an hour. He had reached the point where he was sleeping most of the day so he wasn’t in so much pain and even just talking to the family for a few minutes drained him more than he cared to admit.

UK Core Issue: How Do We Distribute Covid Vaccines?

Assuming I had enough of the vaccine to distribute it to all the residents of Fayette County, Kentucky I would have various pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS, etc., give the vaccine to customers there. I would also have distribution tents throughout, especially in areas where access to things is limited. However if there was only enough of the vaccine for a third of the population I would distribute it to health care and essential workers first, then anyone with an illness that puts them at higher risk, all residents in lower income areas, followed by elderly people and then the remaining population. 

To make sure that vaccines get to who needs it most I would compile a list of areas and people who were at the highest risk of getting Covid and then send groups of people out to those locations so they can locate and vaccinate said people. However there are quite a few contextual things that have to be taken into consideration. Some may be: are any of them against vaccines? is anyone at risk of being allergic to the vaccine? has anyone already been infected? is there any condition they may have that prevents them from being vaccinated? are they involved in something that could make them feel hostile towards any employees? will the employees be safe? And many, many more.

While it may be or close to being impossible to check all the right boxes given the situation, with enough of the correct resources and right amount of help, getting a vaccine to everyone is possible. 

Equal Opportunity Learning In Pandemic

    Before Covid I would agree that online education provides equal learning opportunities for students that chose to do their classes online. However during this pandemic where online school is the only option I don’t believe that learning opportunities are equal. While many students may be able to switch to online school with ease that isn’t the case for everyone. Some families may not have the resources or access to the proper resources for the children to participate in virtual learning, hence the in person education thus far. There are also situations where perhaps the families have the resources but the children can’t participate or perform as well as they would be able to in a classroom for whatever the reason may be, it could also be a mix of the two or something completely unrelated. There are a variety of reasons that people may not be able to do virtual classes and now that we have no other option than to do class online puts those children at an immediate disadvantage and sets them behind their peers.

    I firmly believe that there should be a hardship clause for any students impacted by Covid to the extent that they could fail their classes. I don’t think that students and the futures they’ve worked hard for until Covid should have to suffer over things that are entirely out of their control. Students cannot control: a pandemic, how much money their families have, where they live, various mental disorders, etc., they shouldn’t be expected to perform miracles to maybe complete their classwork while other students just have to wake up and do it. 

    While I’m not too sure about how to go about implementing such a policy fairly I do think that it’s possible. During this pandemic students have experienced so much change between school, the protests, the virus itself, etc. and should all be shown some leniency right now. No two people have experienced this pandemic the same and you will never know what responsibilities they are juggling to make ends meet. Personally I think that having a break year from school would have been the best, and the fairest, option during Covid. Things are continuously changing and there is a lot going on especially in politics and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, that I think it would be the safer option to keep kids from falling behind and also to keep them safe.

    During Covid I haven’t had the most exciting experiences with online learning. My teachers give three times the amount of work they normally would and it’s all just busywork, it’s like they fail to realize I do have work for other classes to do. I also suck at actually doing my work because I don’t have any motivation to get it done. I struggle to pay attention during the zoom lectures too because I get bored of staring at my screen all day, I also have ADHD and even if I take my medication there are simply too many things to fiddle with no matter where I go. Online classes are also making me a lot more with drawn from others, I spend 95% of my time in my dorm, the other 5% is basically to get food or the few hours I spend with my church group on Friday nights.

    Many countries in Europe and Asia are having face-to-face classes already while the U.S. is still mostly online or completely online for some, and teetering on the verge of being completely online again for everyone. I feel like a lot of students including myself are going to be less competitive in the job market because of Covid. We’ve so far spent 7 months in lockdown with no end in sight and most of us spend our time at home not with other people, making us less social and less competitive which is definitely going to shift our mental state.