It’s officially week eleven and as the semester comes to an end, I’m really enjoying taking classes from home. With the outside world closing itself off for several months, I’ve come to really appreciate being with my family and living at home.
The best part about being online is the lack of societal pressure I feel. When I’m at school, I definitely feel the need to look or present myself a certain way. Now that we are online, I don’t worry about that at all – people only see my face and it’s one less thing for me to worry or stress about.
I also love the fact that I don’t feel the need to always be hanging out with friends or socializing. Current circumstances prevent me from hanging out with my friends and I do miss them, but it’s nice to not compare myself on what others are doing or posting on their social media.
Being at home has allowed me to spend lots of time with my parents, time I didn’t think I’d have once I started college, and it’s allowed me to prioritize what’s really important to me and forget about the rest. I finally picked up a book that wasn’t required reading for a class and I’ve been able to watch every Tom Hanks movie. Academically, I’ve had the time to start exploring various career paths and graduate schools!
I do miss my friends though. For the past seven months, I’ve kept in close touch with a handful of them but no one else. The lack of social interaction certainly makes the day less enjoyable. Classes aren’t the same because I can’t talk to my friends or work on homework with them. It’s a lot harder to make things work virtually.
In the first couple of weeks, I didn’t have any motivation either. But embracing the situation and sending texts here and there have helped me get through this semester. Also, knowing that eventually I’ll be able to go back to Los Angeles brings me lots of comfort as it starts to get cold here on the East Coast.
