The sun is shining (on most days), the air is warm and it is impossible to find a parking spot anywhere on campus in the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday. In-person learning is back in business.
I must admit that I did not mind a completely remote class schedule. After all, there is something to be said about taking an exam in your pajamas with a mug of coffee and a fluffy goldendoodle at your feet.
But, when I sat down in my first in-person class this semester, it felt like a breath of fresh air (even though it was really just my own air…masks).
The sights, sounds and smells of campus are a familiar one to many of us, and as I (finally) enter my senior year, I am embracing these in-person experiences, as they will be some of my last as an undergrad.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I missed human interactions. Even something as simple as raising my hand with a question that was already asked (and answered) because I am deaf in one ear and can’t read lips through the masks, seems…familiar.
So, as we all embark on fall semester 2021, I encourage my fellow students to take these experiences in. Unfortunately, the world we live in right now is one riddled with uncertainty and only peppered lightly with normalcy that acts as a seasoning for an otherwise cautious and careful day-to-day existence.
Form the relationships with your peers that you were pining for last year. Engage in campus activities if you feel safe doing so, and take in what we now all realize to be the luxury of being together.
Have a great semester, and stay healthy and safe!
