Unfortunately, we all know the story.
It was spring break 2020.
College students across the US were, well,
doing what college students do during spring break.
I for one was visiting Texas for the first time with some friends.
We did it all.
The fun, the dumb, the memorable.
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It was all going great,
until the Coronavirus- >> Coronavirus.
>> Coronavirus death toll in this country hit its highest point in several weeks.
>> Many schools around the world, as you know, have shut down.
>> Millions of college students have been sent home during this pandemic and
now have to take classes online.
>> Fast forward to now and colleges across the US are reopening.
We're all so concerned about this pandemic moving forward,
I want to show a little bit of what social life has been like back on campus.
So yeah, here we go.
First off, let's start with the basics.
For those who don't know,
I'm a senior studying computer science at Boston University.
Now, Boston is a pretty dense city.
Rule number one of the pandemic is that dense equals bad.
BU has been really great about testing all the students and
keeping us all accountable.
So ever since I've been back, I've been spending a lot more time indoors.
That means a lot of online classes, a lot of eating at home.
A lot of just me time.
Now, for some people, that might be great, but for
me, someone who just loves being around people, it kinda sucked.
I miss eating in the dining hall with my friends for way too long.
I miss saying hi to people when I see them on campus.
I miss doing stuff not six feet apart from everyone.
But it's not all bad.
Obviously, this is a really small sacrifice to make to keep people safe.
Plus it's given me the chance to take a lot more time for myself.
I've learned how to cook a ton of things.
I found hobbies that I didn't know before, and
it doesn't hurt that my roommate is pretty awesome.
And I've been so amazed by how people have adapted to keep doing the stuff they love.
This leads right into my next point, which is how extracurriculars look now.
So Zoom is the key word here.
When I'm not zooming into class,
I'm zooming into a meeting with people to talk about something we care about.
It's definitely been weird talking with new students,
faculty, deans without ever seeing them in person.
But what impresses me most is how people just keep making stuff work.
I see dance groups socially distance practicing outside on the lawn.
I see clubs hosting meetings with over 100 people.
I see people using programs like Remo to recreate
the whole college fair experience.
Next up is work.
College isn't cheap.
And I know a lot of students including myself work on the side when
we're at school.
My job is a little bit different than most.
I get to work with this awesome team to make videos for BU.
But regardless of what your job is, a lot of students have had to adapt how they
work or where they work to accommodate for Coronavirus, while also weighing whether
they want to take the extra risk of seeing these people during a pandemic.
That's partially why I'm filming this on my phone from my apartment.
Finally, I wanna talk about friends.
For me at least, college is comprised of three main things.
Getting my degree, discovering who I am as a person, and
just having a good time with my friends.
I've met some really amazing people here, and the thought of not being able to spend
my senior year with those people really made me sad.
I live on campus and
I'm not allowed to have anyone over who doesn't live in my building.
Long story short,
this basically means a lot more outdoors time, and I'm okay with that.
In the weeks leading up to school and even when school started, there were so
many people I wanted to catch up with.
The main way we hung out was through picnics, hikes, beach trips.
Any way we could have a larger group together while still staying responsible.
I think while the weather is super nice in Boston,
a lot of other students have been taking advantage of this, too.
I won't lie. I have no idea how Covid is gonna affect
the whole college reopening process.
I wonder if people are still gonna socially distance when it's 15 degrees and
snowing out.
I definitely have days where I'm just mad at the circumstances, too.
But I've realized after being mad for
basically an entire summer, there's really no point.
I'm just gonna have to make the most of the time I have left in college.
And I'm okay with that.
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