Hey guys!
How are you? How are you guys dealing and feeling about this entire pandemic ordeal! It is so crazy how in matter of days our entire lives changed. I can imagine that some of us might not even be feeling anything and that is okay. But please take care of yourselves and your family. Stay home!! Wash your hands constantly! I know that by now this sounds like a broken record but people still do not understand.
As many of you guys probably already know, almost all if not all colleges have gone remote. This means that in person classes have moved online. Now, many people are dealing with this just fine but other students are completely struggling with this and I just want to say that that is okay. It is okay to be sad, unmotivated, mad, frustrated, and even overwhelmed at a time like this. In an ideal world, we would all be having an okay experience. Heck, in an ideal world we would not be in this crisis right now. But I think that things happen for a reason. All we got left is to abide CDC orders and stay home as much as we might not want to.
Personally, today I have concluded my third week of classes through Zoom. Oh, dear beloved Zoom. I was planning to do a weekly post but honestly, things are all over the place and my head space is not the greatest. Let me tell you a bit of my experience and some things that I have to realize that might help you. I am not going to lie, my professors have been literal angels. I was really blessed with them! They have been super understanding and lenient with us. I really have gained a bigger appreciation and respect for teachers and professors through all this. That is why it makes me sad that not everyone has been having the same experience. Anyways, let me get started from the beginning.
Before spring break, my school had decided to do a test run since things were not as severe yet in LA. Since I was not going to have to present myself in class after Tuesday, I decided I would head home early for spring break that day. I did not think much of it really. I never expected or imagined things would get to where they are now. I don't think anyone did. I packed my backpack, washed some of my dirty dishes, and got my toiletries. As I was getting ready to leave, I talked a bit with my roommate. We both were clueless of how things would turn out. If I am not wrong, the moment I got home, I received an email from the president of my university. I had been on Twitter all day seeing other schools cancel classes so I immediately opened up the email and read it as fast as I could. "Notice of Extended Period of Remote Instruction." We had not even started our supposed trial! I was in shock to say the least. However, I still was naive about this entire situation. I came to accept that my spring break would be a little longer. But the world had other plans. I later received another email saying that the rest of our semester would be online. Okay then. My mind went blank. At least for a while until millions of questions began to flood my head. After a while I was able to compose myself and began to think serious about this. I figured this was for the best of everyone. I was fortunate enough to be able to still continue my education. However, one of my biggest problems with this remote thing is the unequal field it creates for students, especially first generation and low income students. I did find it nice of companies such as Comcast and Spectrum to offer their services in support of students but some inequalities are still present. Although this is an important conversation, this is completely not what this post is for and I am sorry! If you want to talk about this with me send me an email and I would be happy to hear you out!
My first week of online classes came and I did not know what to expect. My professors had already emailed us with what to expect but I still was scared! One of my professors decided that classes would be occasional due to the large number of international students we had and other issues that could interfere. She is the sweetest person and I really appreciate she is making this easy for everyone. She does Zoom meetings here and there and I love them when she does. She is brilliant and it is fun to hear her talk about the city. She records all of these and posts notes so we can reference them when we need them! I do not have enough words to thank her but I am very fortunate to have had her as a professor! My other classes have been equally great! For the first week many just called us to check in and talk to us about how we are all! I really appreciate that most of them did not jump in directly to lecture and brush this off. I think that although we are in college and "adults" we still have emotions. This is not something normal or easy and many of them understand that. Like I said, I will forever be grateful for them! They are truly making this an easy transition while still providing my with an education.
In the second week, for the most part was back to the normal routine. Many of my professors modified our syllabus to better accommodate all of us so we discussed that in various classes. This semester, I am taking a dance class for one of my general education requirements and what we have done there is watch videos and had discussions. This is normally what we did in class, aside from our embodiment classes where we actually danced in the studio. That is one of the things I lost during this transition that I am devastated about, our dance classes. As for my other policy class and writing class, things have been almost the same. They have continue to provide the usual handouts, presentations, and assignments. Although there is a bit more work than there was before and less students in our class due to the different time zones, I personally think that things are as good as they could get for the situation we are in. Of courser there are better alternatives but I think some of us have tried to make the most out it and look at the bright side.
This week, my third week, has become more "normal." My professors continue to make sure we are okay by sending occasional check up emails and have kept us on track with our syllabuses. I think that I have finally gotten somewhat used to no human interaction apart from my family. I also think that since I have become numb I have just kept pushing through each day and keeping myself busy. However, something good that I have definitely noticed is that, at least for me, I have been able to participate more in class. Although I would engage and participate in class before, I think that being behind a screen has gave me some confidence (lol. sad). Although sometimes it is difficult to stay focused and engage, when I am into the lectures, I will always try to add something whether it be by sharing my opinion or asking a question.
Next week I will be writing a post about some tips and tricks I have discovered that could help you with this transition. I just wanted to kind of check up and catch up with you guys. I hope that all of you are staying safe and healthy. If you guys ever need someone to talk to please don't be afraid in contacting me. Times are hard right now and it is okay to feel a little down right now. If you want to share any thoughts or your experience with any of this, feel free to comment down below! Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope you guys enjoyed it!
Take care!
Diana