04/06/2020

It is Monday once again, and the cycle repeats itself. It is like a never-ending cycle. You get up, do your normal wake up routine, get your computer set up, eat some breakfast, start in on homework or zoom meetings. There is never a day you don’t have something going on. But today is different than the Monday before. The difference is you get to start looking to the future as you register for classes for the Fall semester. You have the power to decide if you want to only go two days a week or three days or go completely all online. Much like we are doing now.

04/07/2020

Tuesdays, much like Mondays, have never really been my favorite day of the week. Today has that “dawn of a new day” feeling going on. It is a new day in that we are one day closer to a vaccine for COVID-19, one day closer to the end of the semester, and for those of you who are graduating this semester it is one day closer to being done with college. With everything going on not only in this country but around the world you must remember that there is a light at the end of this tunnel. You must have faith that we will make it out of this alright. We may lose lives in the process, lives that ended too early, but we will get through this as a country and as a student body.

04/08/2020

Wednesdays are those days that you don’t really want to deal with but must, to get to Friday and the weekend. Exams have taken up so much of my time this last week, that I feel guilty doing anything else. However, I also feel guilty not taking time for myself. I get so lost in doing homework that I feel like Alice from Alice in Wonderland, who went down a rabbit hole and ended up in a place so unfamiliar to her. I sometimes want to be Alice. A girl who experienced a whole new world. As I wrote that, my mind went to Ariel from the Little Mermaid. A movie I haven’t seen in forever but remember so vividly.

04/09/2020

The days are getting warmer, and longer. Sometimes I feel like lounging by the pool, a pool that I do not have. During the summer months in Arkansas, I wish we had money and had a summer home in a place cold and surrounded by nature. But we don’t and I am stuck in a state that most days I hate and most days I kinda like. The part I hate is the family that lives around this area. They are so up in my business that I feel like I am their scratching post and they are the cats scratching at it.

04/10/2020

It is finally Friday. A day that you and I wish was every day but isn’t. The depression I have been fighting since junior year of high school seems to always find me repeatedly. Pulling me closer to the edge of darkness. What is the only thing that is keeping me from going over the edge? I ask myself that same question every minute of every day. But I leave you with this quote from Dr. Seuss:

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is yourer than you.”

~Rhiannon

(Bio: My name is Rhiannon Casey, a transfer student from Arkansas State University. I am currently a Junior Marketing Major with an emphasis in Advertising and Promotions.)

Monday, March 30

Today was the first day of online classes due to quarantine. Personally, I prefer an in-person lecture, which makes it extremely scary to go into the rest of this semester. However, I am a firm believer that a good attitude will help with making it through. In my case, I have only one lecture at 8am that isn’t pre-recorded, but it went decently. It’s practically like I was still in lecture.

Tuesday, March 31

Second day of quarantine classes! It has been an interesting day to say the least. I am a cell and molecular biology major, so a lot of my coursework is lab based. Sadly, I won’t be able to go to a lab, so we are given work to do at home, which isn’t quite as fun, but it gets the job done!

Wednesday, April 1

Today was so different from the other days. Today I had two online lectures; one was the first day in Zoom for me. Obviously for some teachers it’s different for them as well. Today I had an anatomy lecture which was a little long and clunky. However it worked out. Obviously, things are going to be weird regardless. I hope that things are going well for everyone. For some people this is probably great! However, if anyone is struggling with the transition, I know that anyone can still be super successful.

Thursday, April 2

As things have continued, I’ve found it more complicated to figure out how to work with everything. I think my biggest thing is finding motivation. I’m so used to doing things on campus and having home as a place to relax, but it’s not all molding together. It’s difficult to find that line between relaxation and work. I think something I will find beneficial is to make a schedule in order to have boundaries for when I should do the things I need to.

Friday, April 3

It’s Friday! But it also doesn’t feel like it. This is so weird! So after the first week, it has been an interesting time with all of this new online class stuff. However, it will be manageable. My professors have reassured all of us that we are doing a great job and they are proud of the work we are doing, and I hope all students know how proud of professors they are. So as long as everyone keeps working hard, I know we can be successful. And no matter what, finding ways to stay connected in a time when it is hard is very important.

~Michael

(Bio: My name is Michael Rexroad, a transfer student from Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City. I am a junior currently studying cell and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry.)

3/29/2020

Tomorrow is the first day of all online classes and a part of me is glad that I don’t have to be on campus anymore, but the other part of me wants that social interaction. Even though I am as introverted as they come. I have spent the last two days, well last two weeks really, doing nothing but re-watching the Vampire Diaries from the beginning. And I have found that I am still on board the Delena (Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert) train. Is it because I am a fan of Ian Somerhalder? Maybe. Is it because I find Paul Weasley’s character Stefan Salvatore annoying? Possibly. However, as I sit and watch The Vampire Diaries, I feel guilty because I know that I need to be reviewing for my Business classes.

3/30/2020

Transitions have always been a little hard for me. When I first came to Missouri State University, I had trouble transitioning to dorm life and the everyday life of MSU. I am an only child, so I had no one to really learn from about the transition, and neither of my parents graduated from college. So really, I had no one.

With the developments of COVID-19 and having to make the decision to move out of my dorm room for me was almost a dream come true in a way. I am a homebody and do not like leaving the house or dorm room unless I absolutely must. So really the transition to going online has been easier than the transition to a dorm.

However, with any kind of pandemic or hardship, I have had bad days as well. Being home in Arkansas again has been challenging to say the least. I come from a small town where everyone knows your business and with neighbors right on top of you it feels like you cannot breathe.

3/31/2020

I transferred from a community college in Arkansas and my last semester there I had five classes online. Much like now, but the only difference now is I did not choose to go all online this semester. At least two of my seated classes this semester are an easy transition and I feel like they are the type that you can do easily online. However, I am currently enrolled in a finance class, and this is one of those classes that has a ton of math involved which is why I chose to take it seated versus the online seating. And it is because of that that I am completely afraid that I am going to botch this class.

However, I digress. The point of this blog post is to give you an inside look into someone else’s experiences of going all online. First things first, I want each and every one of you to know that we are all in this together. All 26,001 of us. Secondly, there is one quote that I am reminded of everyday:

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” -Ernest Hemingway

4/01/2020

My days have been running together and honestly as I sit here, I am not sure what day it is anymore. But this is our new normal for the time being and there is not a whole lot we can do about it. I am reminded of a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. that says:

“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so, we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.”

We will all get through this change, just have to give it time.

4/02/2020

I have had human contact all week (i.e., my parents), however today I had my first weekly zoom meeting with my fellow CAST members and supervisors. I know that we are all in this shutdown stay at home thing together but seeing it with your own eyes in different parts of the state or across state lines (like I am) gives me that sense of “We are alone together.” Kind of like that Freeform show “Alone Together” that I never watched but relate to now that we are literally alone together.

4/03/2020

It is finally Friday and I could not be happier. However, as I say that I know I will not be getting out of the house unless it is to go outside and be around the cat that has gone from being named Ghost to Sticky Butt. Which is a story for another day. With it being Friday, it means I can finally boot one of my parents out of the house and have some peace and quiet. After his two days off I am ready for a break, so I don’t have to hear “Hey Rhiannon! Hey Rhiannon!” only for him to say after a million what’s, “I just like saying that to make you mad.”

~Rhiannon

(Bio: My name is Rhiannon Casey, a transfer student from Arkansas State University. I am currently a Junior Marketing Major with an emphasis in Advertising and Promotions.)