Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when stay-at-home orders first started to take effect? 

It feels as if it was a whole decade ago, and yet I can pin point exactly what I was doing as if it was just yesterday.

It was the middle of March 2020, and I was at home during our spring break. We had about two more days left of our break, and I, like every college student, was dreading going back after a week of relaxation. Little did I know my last day of school was going to be that Friday before spring break…

My phone vibrates from my kitchen counter as I pour myself a bowl of cereal. I glance at the screen. 

Immediately, my hand puts down the cereal box and I grab my phone with both hands, feverishly tapping my thumbs to the keyboard. 

I check my school email only to see a single email that stated this: 

My heart sinks. Not because of the fear of the coronavirus, no, but because I am the only school out of my friends who has not extended spring break. I will soon wish that I never had that feeling of jealousness.

Everything happened in a span of a day.

Just three hours after the previous email from my school, I get another one with different news:

My phone immediately begins to blow up with messages from my school friends. Some were cheering, some were scared, and others were in complete shock. We all had no idea what to expect, let alone when we will ever see each other again in-person.

And that’s where it hit me, we are now living in a pandemic.