(This is the sixth in a series of articles from students about their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
Were you in college or high school when the pandemic hit the country? What was the biggest impact on your life during the first few months of the pandemic?
When the pandemic started, I was in my final semester as a high school senior. The first few months of the pandemic were also the last few months I was supposed to have spent learning, interacting, and cherishing the little time left in my high school education.
It was challenging at the beginning of the pandemic as I did not see any of my friends as much as I wish I could have. To put these feelings into perspective (small town things), I graduated high school with a class of roughly one hundred and fifty peers. A large majority of my class had been together since kindergarten, and some of us since preschool.
Now that we have gone our separate ways in life, I am happy about the time we had, but I missed those last couple of months with them.
What were the challenges of transitioning from seated classes (either high school or college) to online learning?
Without a doubt, I got lucky in this aspect as my fourth quarter grades could not drop below my third quarter grade! The only negative side to that was I struggled to find the motivation to push through in my classes.
I ended up not doing all the work in a couple of classes and devoted my time to my dual credit classes since they were not exempt from the grade waiver.
What is the greatest lesson you took away from the pandemic (from the beginning to the point we are currently at with social distancing, masking)?
Everyone needs to love everyone. I witnessed some very unsustainable actions since the start of the pandemic. No, I am not talking about not recycling, but the social sustainability aspect of our society.
How did you practice Self-Care-As-A-Bear in dealing with the stress of online classes, isolation from friends and activities, general stress of dealing with the unknown?
I made sure to take a lot of naps! On a real note, my Mother was also stuck at home. I was annoyed at first, but we had the time to become even closer and form some final memories before I left to come to Missouri State.
What did you learn about yourself as you went through/continue to go through the pandemic?
I learned two extensive facts about myself. While I do enjoy talking to people and making friends, I also enjoy some alone time. Secondly, I was diagnosed with ADD a couple of months ago. I really wish I would have known that last spring!