Facing the Unexpected: Coronavirus Edition
Hello!
Many colleges nationwide have switched to online classes for the remainder of the semester and many of us are being advised to practice ~social distancing~ as the Coronavirus has begun to spread rapidly within the United States. This entire situation itself and the changes it’s presenting mostly escalated within the past week. Crazy right? One day we’re hearing about how this virus has begun affecting people on the coasts and the next we’re being told to stock up our pantries in case the virus spreads to our hometowns and forces us to stay at home. This sudden turn of events happened all too quickly and we’re entering such an unknown territory that none of us really know what to expect. The unknown is probably one of the scariest things for humans as our innate curiosity has always led us on the pursuit of discovery as a means of acquiring knowledge and a sense of stability. Yet, with this new virus and its rapid transmission, the lack of information about treatment, college campus closures, empty supermarkets, and increasing fear, many of us are witnessing a never-before-seen situation and THAT is the opposite of acquiring knowledge and a sense of stability. We don’t know how long this will persist or how many people will be affected or how online classes will turn out. What we do know is that there are way too many people in this country hoarding hand sanitizer.
I think one of the weirdest parts of all this that’s just now hitting me is that on-campus classes are over for the rest of the school year. I was nowhere close to being ready for the year to just end like that. While we still have the privilege of online classes (I hope my sarcasm came across there), everything else just abruptly ended. I went into spring break excited for my week off only to learn that I would no longer be returning to SLU’s campus afterwards for the final two months of the school year. As someone who’s commuting next year, my on-campus dorm life is effectively over and I had my last few days living with my roommate of two years without even knowing it.
The reason this is so hard to deal with is the lack of closure I received in terms of saying goodbye to out-of-town friends or friends who are graduating, not attending end-of-year events I had been looking forward to, and not being able to soak in the walks on West Pine as the final days of the school year come around. I never had the chance to acknowledge that I was saying goodbye to a friend for the next five months instead of for a week or that my most recent MSA e-board meeting would be the last time I would get together with that specific group of people.
While I’m sure we’ll manage to stay sane at home and busy ourselves with schoolwork, it’s still unfair that our daily routines and anticipation of upcoming events was unexpectedly disrupted without us being able to mentally prepare for this change.
If anything, I think that everything that’s happened is a reminder to us all that we never know what lies ahead so we shouldn’t take what we have for granted. It’s a reminder that we must live in the moment and be kind to those around us and strive to be the best versions of ourselves right now before we miss out on the chance to do so.
With love,
Haya Ahmed
