In just one month, everything that we have to come to know and feel comfortable with in our whole lives has changed so greatly that adjusting has been incredibly difficult for all of us. For me, and many of my friends, being sent home from college, no matter what year we’re in has been really tough, but I think that freshmen and seniors have been hit the hardest.

I was so incredibly happy to be at college. My first semester I spent adjusting to school and all the new changes, and I was finally feeling at home and comfortable when I came back for the spring. I was beyond excited to take advantage of every opportunity that was presented to me. After finally finishing adjusting to a new place and period of my life, I was abruptly pulled from it, and stuck socially isolated from all my friends and non-immediate family. At first, I didn’t really know how to feel. I felt a mix of anxiousness, stress, sadness, and worry. I didn’t think I would be able to adjust to online learning, and considered trying to just take this semester off. Almost month later, and I’m still feeling this same mix of emotions. I’m anxious that my grades won’t be as high as they could on campus, I’m stressed about online learning and keeping myself focused, I.m sad about not being able to see my friends, losing my semester, and for all the people directly dealing with this awful virus and I’m worried for everyone I know and life keeping themselves safe.

However, now I am also feeling hopeful, and motivated. I feel hopeful that we will be able to get past this challenging time. Hopeful that this separation will only make my relationships stronger. Hopeful that all of my family members will make it through this pandemic healthy. I’m motivated to still achieve good grades in all my classes. Motivated to do everything I can to help those people who have less resources than I do to stay safe from illness. Motivated to keep myself safe in every way possible.

Overall, I know that we will come out of this on the other side eventually. This is not an ideal situation for every one, and everything continues to change every minute, but I’m sure that as humanity, we will be able to move on and recover from this.

By: Taylor Powlowicz