Media, Self & 2urviv4l
Photo Essay - My life as a college student in 2020
3/20/2020 - My house, Potomac, MD - My nephew, Knox, as we celebrated his second birthday amid the confusion of the pandemic and my sister’s sudden departure from their home in New York City, a place badly hit by the coronavirus in March. Even with all the hardships, Knox was as happy as ever.
4/25/2020 - My house, Potomac, MD - My newest project of the pandemic was tie-dyeing! I made shirts and sweatshirts of all colors for my parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, and nephews. The process involved tying the shirts in spirals, adding the dye, letting them sit for about six hours, then squeezing the excess dye out (which is hard work!) and washing them.
8/19/2020 - Somewhere over Indiana - I dropped my twin sister off at college! It was really weird to leave her, and know we wouldn't see each other until Thanksgiving, which was the longest we had ever spent apart.
9/5/2020 - Outside Eppley Recreation Center, College Park, MD - While adjusting to college life in the middle of a pandemic, it was nice to be able to walk outside and appreciate the beauty of nature.
11/3/2020 - The Diner, College Park, MD - A common sight for students living on campus. 4MARYLAND signs were everywhere with guidance on how to interact in places to keep yourself and others safe.
11/4/2020 - Cumberland Hall, College Park, MD - I spent the entire week of the election refreshing my phone and my computer, waiting for a result to come out. Even if I knew no more votes would be updated, I stayed glued to the page.
11/8/2020 - Regents drive, College Park, MD - Another common sight for a student living on the UMD campus: construction. From the structure being built outside of Cumberland Hall to the fences and roadblocks around this round-a-bout, construction was unavoidable.
My life as a college student in 2020
College was definitely not what I thought it would be. Usually in the final months of high school, you get a graduation, a commitment day where everyone is wearing college gear, and prom. I didn’t get any of that, and the lack of end-of-high-school trademarks led to me feeling very unsure about the ending of this chapter in my life. When packing for college, I didn’t know how much to bring, since everyone thought we would be sent home in two weeks with the inevitable spike of cases that would come with the return of college students. Having a roommate is also something that most people expect to have as a freshman, but we were all in singles. It was actually nicer to have your own room because the dorm rooms are small and with two people there would be a lot of stuff and we would probably have to raise our beds high up for more storage. It was also nicer because the room would be quiet when doing work and you didn't have to go somewhere else for classes if you wanted the quiet. My twin who attends Indiana University had a roommate and I don't understand how she did classes in her dorm. Moving her in was also so much harder than me because with two people the whole room has to be utilized well because both people need everything, but in my dorm room, the second bed, desk, and dresser aren’t as important.
School itself was also a big adjustment. Starting college in a normal year is hard enough, but adjusting to that and online school was really difficult. As much as teachers want to be there to support their students, because they physically aren't there it is much harder. School was also harder online because it is really difficult to distance yourself from it and take a break when you get notifications at all hours of the day. I became pretty anxious when school started, which prompted me to go to the gym more to help ease it. There is also the expectation of walking a lot to get to classes, but obviously that doesn't happen when they are all online.
With online school and coronavirus, I was also scared about making friends at school. I’m really lucky to have found the friends I did in media scholars! I love that we all live next to each other, which makes it easy to hang out at any time of the day. This definitely added to my experience in scholars and school wouldn't have been the same without them. It helped to have them to rely on in times of stress, which is really important when coronavirus can make you feel alone.
Being a media scholar this year meant to me that I was staying informed on what was going on in the world. Every week, class started with discussing the events of the week, and I loved being able to see what people’s thoughts were on the topics. I’m glad to have been living on campus this semester and getting the benefits of scholars campus life.