As the 2020 fall semester begins, we reflect on our time during quarantine. This blog was written April 3, 2020.
Needless to say these are crazy times.
The first week of March I was walking down a busy Wisconsin Ave. to my classes and hanging out with friends in my dorm room.
The second week of March I was on a plane to Colorado for my spring break and discovering the news about the impact COVID-19 would have on my daily life.
By the third week of March I was told we’d be having online classes for the rest of the semester and that I would have to pick a day in the following week to move out of my dorm room that just a few days prior I was sleeping in.
Moving out of my dorm was surreal. My roommate and I were talking about how we had taken our first year at Marquette for granted. We had said goodbye to our friends before spring break assuming we’d see them again in a few days; now I won’t be able to see them for several months.
I went from a consistent social life, where I was surrounded by friends and classmates, to the solitude of my room at home hours away from Milwaukee.
While this virus has made its way into all of our lives unexpectedly and impacted so many daily life actions we took for granted, there is still some happiness to be found. Facetime has been my savior during this time and has connected me to friends that are a block to hundreds of miles away from me. While I am unable at leave my house, I have been able to use this solitude as a time to reflect and get my creative side active again. My friend from high school and I have been plotting for the day we are out of quarantine to make films and take photos. Writing scripts and creating mood boards for activities has kept me sane over the past few weeks.
While I am very excited for quarantine to end and our country to get a hold on coronavirus, I know I am lucky to not have anyone I love hurt by this virus and that, overall, this experience could be a lot worse.
