My Recollections as a College Student During COVID-19

Photo by Tony Tran on Unsplash

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Ah, the age-old childhood question. Children answer with some of the wildest ideas. I remember my own answers: astronomer, composer, and Egyptologist before vocation struck and I listened to the nagging call of my career as a writer. I’ve been writing creatively since second grade, and three years ago, I started my journey to better myself and to begin my life in a career that I’ve dreamed about.

I wonder if that is ever going to be the case.

I attended my first year of college at the University of Iowa. The first year at a college or university is incredibly telling, and the University of Iowa wasn’t my scene. I’m used to the city life, but I was 12 hours away from home and was truly alone for the first time in my life. Year one was my trial run.

I was ready for a new year and a fresh start.

I found another college in Iowa, a college I’ve been able to make my home-away-from-home, transferring over to Loras College with 46 credits and a new year. The first semester, I flourished: I branched out socially and found multiple groups of new friends, I studied hard and finished with a 3.876 GPA, and discovered that I could graduate a semester early with a major and a minor.

The second semester, COVID-19 was looming before I even started back at school. Cases were present in the airport I would be flying into, and I was terrified of the possibilities. I brought five masks and shared three with passengers who were also a little paranoid. My habit of overthinking finally paid off.

We had classes for a month and a half before the order came to send us all home. I cried everyday, making the twelve hour drive home by myself. I reluctantly finished the school year online, eight hundred miles away from home. I still managed to pull a 3.795 GPA.

I couldn’t wait to get away.

I looked forward to our new school year, working all summer in a mask in order to keep myself safe. I was home for four months, and I was itching to leave, crossing off calendar dates with a big yellow “X.” As each month passed, I watched the cases with dread. I didn’t think we were going to go back, and I was desperate to see my best friends. I was desperate to go home.

My roommates and I moved in at the end of August, careful to establish our ground rules and our schedules. The start of the new year was looking up, even in light of the new hybrid schedule, mask mandate in classes, and restrictions on travel.

Now, a month into classes, I’m wondering how long it’s going to be until we all contract the virus, go online, or what combination of the two we are going to have. Many of my friends have it, some professors, and even my coworkers. It’s so much closer to me than it has been in months, and I’m terrified. COVID-19 is a looming threat, like watching a tsunami stand upright, waiting to crash down at second and wash us all away.

As if college isn’t hard enough, right?

I am immunocompromised and I am angry that many friend, peers, and even strangers are still breaking the rules after months of the same messages. It’s exhausting. Nothing’s changed, and the lack of regard for others is absolutely insane. Seriously, if my three-year-old students can wear a mask everyday, so can you.

It’s not all bad, though. I have my best friends and a Netflix subscription. I haven’t been infected yet. I am working hard and maintaining the kind of grades I expect from myself in addition to working a part-time job, writing and copy-editing for the school newspaper, and finding time for my own writing. While I’d love to be out and about, painting the town not red, but maybe a pink color, I am stuck at home.

So, here is some advice for anyone during COVID-19, but specifically for college students who are just as frustrated and scared and angry.

1. Don’t associate with anyone. The masks make it great to hide those awkward smiles in passing. It’s so easy to avoid eye contact. Just keep walking.
2. Stay inside and make food. Don’t worry about the “Freshmen Fifteen” — eat that second pack of Ramen, nuke the pizza rolls, and make sure to drink another cup of coffee.
3. Feel free to call anyone out who is not distancing or not wearing a mask. It’s literally not hard. To reiterate, if the three-year-olds and up at my job can wear one, the eighteen to twenty-three year olds are more than capable.
4. Let out the tears. College is hard as it is, between course loads and making new friends. I can’t even imagine starting college in a time where you can’t meet anyone. Don’t be afraid to maintain internet friends, but be diligent about planning some socially-distanced activities with your human friends.

The storm will pass, albeit slowly. I am trying to keep my anger at bay and trying to stay sane. Whether you’re in college or not, please keep yourself safe. Keep others safe. Sometimes you’re going to have to give some things up. It’s all part of these crazy times we’re living in.

We are all in this together (cue High School Musical), so let’s continue to do our part to flatten the curve.