Three years ago, Fall 2019, was my glimpse at normal college life. From little fear about health issues to always talking to new people, my first semester at Stevens was blissful, and I got to experience relationships without masks. March 2020 was the month everyone at Stevens got sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I came out of an MA-123 exam with 500 GroupMe messages, 25 text messages, and 10 emails, each wondering what the future would hold as Stevens transitioned all classes online for the next two weeks.
It was at first two weeks, then, the rest of the semester, then, the 2020-2021 academic year. Did I know we were going to be gone THAT long from Stevens? No. Online teaching was almost unimaginable when I first arrived, but it evolved into my only source of learning for a year and a half. This online learning created an immense, uncomfortable social anxiety within many students including myself. The fear of raising your voice when you do not know what the other person’s body language is like or what they are going through.
The worst was knowing how the class of 2020 and the class of 2021 would graduate. With more than half of the Stevens population missing from their final months, they did not get a worthy farewell for the wealth of time and effort put into their Stevens careers. There is no changing how they left Stevens, but we can hope that our eventual final months will be a celebratory time with our close ones.
Simultaneously, the entire first year for the class of 2024 was a time of not getting to experience what college was really like, but at least they had hopeful years ahead of them. At the same time, I was sitting at home in my pajamas listening to lectures about materials while also watching anything from any streaming service.
School clashed with students’ personal lives every day online. Communicating with fellow students was difficult because no one knew what was going on in the student’s personal environment. Teachers could not have much control over their classroom other than seeing students’ black zoom screens. Students around the world along with those now employed in remote jobs found the comfortability to wear a dress shirt at the same time as pajama pants.
While this was a difficult time for many, I did feel I was the lucky one. I got to experience what college was really like before COVID-19. Additionally, I felt I would eventually get back to Stevens and have a senior year that would be a deserved farewell. For all students, it has been a journey. My message from this piece is to enjoy your time with others while you have it. This world can be a chaotic place, and we are slowly coming out of this pandemic. Let’s enjoy the fact that we can have in-person relationships and make the most of our time.
Be First to Comment