Coronavirus

Sooooo coronavirus!!!

When I said I wanted to live more in the present, this isn’t exactly what I meant. This constant pressure of confusion and uncertainty dispels any hope of proper focus for finals or classes.

I don’t know. I don’t know when I’m going home, I don’t know how summer is going to fall out, I don’t know if Spring Quarter is even going to happen. I don’t know how to live my life while on campus – do I shut my life down and only move between my room and the dining hall? Do I go out and live my life business as usual, with the added precaution of washing my hands hourly?

Classes have been cancelled or moved online, with the expectation that we Zoom in at regularly scheduled times. Finals have been shifted to an online format. The dining halls require hand sanitizer and washed hands before entering; the sauces are distributed in pre-packaged sachets. Gloves are available for use, but I don’t see nearly enough people using them. People have fled campus. Since Friday, when the announcement was made, the campus has become noticeably emptier. The dorm now has a Slack channel called, “The Leftovers,” dedicated to people who have chosen to stay – mostly international students or kids who have members of the at-risk population at home. The purpose of the channel: “for communication between those who are left after the mass exodus. Intended to be used for planning mad ragers, beach volleyball, boba or ice cream runs, etc.” Soto Love always ❤

I imagine that much of the emotional hardship of the last couple days has been a result of the uncertainty. Our information comes from unpredictable blasts sent out by Persis Drell, resulting in a dynamic situation. As someone who loves to plan, the reactive attitude necessitated by this context has been challenging in ways I could not have predicted.

For now, I wait. I do my best to go through my problem sets, I check in on my friends, and I’m learning the ukulele (thanks Sofia <3). My schedule has cleared significantly, now that most events have been cancelled thanks to COVID-19.

We’ll see what happens next.