Present Day

And here we are, in present day.

It is nearing the end of November 2021, and the majority of us have been completely transferred back into in-person activities. And I will be honest, integrating myself back into this environment was no easy task.

While I’m so glad to be back on campus for my final year as an undergraduate, I find that being back in-person has thrown a ton of challenges at me. In fact, I would say that this semester has proven to be one of the hardest semesters that I have ever had throughout college, even harder than when we abruptly switched to online. 

During online classes, I discovered how much I value time. Online classes provided me with more time to put forth the best effort I could for my projects because there was no need to take the time to drive to and from campus, enduring both the morning and afternoon traffic. Rather, I was able to swap from Zoom, maybe take a quick 30-minute lunch break, and then hop right back into working on my projects. 

And let’s not forget the shock of being around people once again. I mean seriously, how is it not overwhelming to go from laying in your bed all day with your computer on your lap to things like this:

In summary, as an introverted workaholic, online classes became something that I preferred.

But don’t get me wrong, I still love in-person classes. I really did miss actually seeing people in person, walking around campus, and even the morning radio that kept my sanity during peak traffic times. There’s no more staring at Zoom screens, hoping that your classmates will show their faces or at least say something when the professor asks a question. No more feeling like you are just on autopilot during class time.   

Despite everything becoming in person once again, covid will always linger, especially through technological changes. While Zoom University has been put on hold (hopefully forever), it is still occasionally used in my classes when a student is not feeling well. While incredibly convenient, I’ve always wondered throughout this semester if some students truly used that option because they were sick or if they simply didn’t want to make the drive onto campus.

For me, this change in technology has directly affected my own behavior. I remember the first day back on campus and in a live classroom:

…

There are no more black zoom boxes. As I walk into class, I immediately feel awkward. A bunch of eyes stare at me as I make my way to the nearest table. I have no idea what they are thinking as they look emotionless due to the masks on their face. And things only grow even more awkward. My eyes catch the sight of two empty chairs, one next to another student and the other alone.

Questions buzz around my head. Should I take the seat next to the other student or the one next to nobody? I slowly make my way to the two empty seats, and it feels as if I ran into an invisible wall near the seat next to the student. Will that student be uncomfortable if I sit that close to them? Will I be uncomfortable? My hand reaches for the seat that sits next to nobody, but I hesitate. Will the other student get offended that I do not sit next to them?

I take a seat in the chair next to nobody, and the student next to the other chair looks up at me. We make eye contact and I smile. The other student just stares, and I realize that she can’t see me smiling from my own mask. I can’t seem to form a single sentence to say to her, so I just nod at her and assume (or rather just hope) that she is smiling back at me.

…

While this is just a quick glimpse into the social awkwardness that this pandemic has created for me, it sure does summarize my newly developed behavior around others.

In essence, I have become better friends with my laptop than actual people.

I am very interested to continue watching us, as a society, slowly integrate back into a world before covid. We are now living in a state of limbo, constantly wondering if anything will ever feel normal again. As my old history teacher said, “a huge societal change will forever impact society,” and this pandemic is no exception. But despite all of this uncertainty of the future, there’s one thing that’s for certain:

We’re all in this together.