Picture this: It’s the week of midterm exams. You have a paper due in 24 hours, a test in 48 hours, and your online class midterm the following week (not counting your smaller quizzes and essays). You’re babysitting because #financialindependence and the baby falls asleep so you think, “I should probably write that paper that is due tomorrow.” So, you open your laptop and your screen flashes white every 2 seconds.
Well if that were to hypothetically happen to me, I think I would freak out. Oh wait, it did happen to me. And I did freak out. A lot.
For the rest of my time babysitting, I did what any other typical college student would do if they had midterms coming up- I watched Netflix on their television.
The next morning, I took my laptop to the shop naively thinking I would be leaving the shop with my prized possession. Instead, I had 5 minutes to email myself as many files from my computer that I could because they were shipping it to their service center and they would probably have to wipe my hard drive.
And then, after I signed the paperwork allowing them to send my laptop away, they told me I could be without my laptop for up to a full month. ONE. FULL. MONTH. I’m not going to lie, I may have been holding back tears and trying not to freak out.
After leaving the store, I went into full planning mode. Thankfully, I have an incredible support system. I was able to borrow a computer from my boyfriend to do the research for my paper. After researching, my friend and fellow SOAR Leader, Samantha Jo, lent me her laptop so I could actually write my paper. After my paper was written, I had to find a consistent computer to do the rest of my school work.
Thankfully, Missouri State University has a plethora of resources for its student. The university has three computer labs open to all Missouri State students including one that is open 24 hours a day! Cheek Hall is open 24/7 while Meyer Library’s computer lab is open when the library is open and Glass Hall’s computer lab is open from 8am-11pm Monday-Thursday and 8am-5pm on Fridays. In addition, the Plaster Student Union has computers for students to use during their operating hours. If you live in a residence hall, you’re in even more luck because their computer labs are open when the residence hall is open!
As I began incorporating computer lab time into my schedule, I got a message from my academic advisor. She knew what was going on and offered to let me use her old laptop until I mine came back from the shop.
Knowing that Missouri State University had so many resources available to me in my crisis was incredibly comforting.
You never know when your computer is going to stop working, when your friend is going to spill their coffee on your computer, or when you’re going to drop your computer. Because of this computer crisis, there are a few things I wish I would have done differently.
I wish I would have utilized the one of 5 flash drives I was given when I graduated and came to Missouri State. If I would have backed up all of my files in a different location, I would not have had to email my classmates for their notes or scramble at the computer store to try and save all of my files.
If you’re unable to buy a flash drive or external hard drive, I recommend creating a new e-mail address and emailing yourself your files as you complete them on your computer. By emailing yourself your files, you can then access them from any computer, even if your computer is at a service center 300 miles away.
In the end, it’s okay to not have a computer because of the plethora of resources offered by Missouri State University. However, if you do have a computer, be sure to take care of it and back up your files in more than one place. Who knows, your computer might get sick when you need it the most.
~Mickie
Mickie Plummer is a Senior studying Socio-Political Communication and Music. Mickie is involved with her social sorority, campus ministry, and is currently serving a one of two SOAR Orientation Assistants.