COVID-19 and College: Disrupted yet Hopeful

By Emilee Adams, 18

“Disruptive” is the only word that I have been able to use to describe the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re like me, you probably have a routine that you stick to during your work or school week that you were used to. As a college student, I was finally settling into the spring semester when the coronavirus outbreak began shutting things down.

Over my spring break, we got an email saying that we would not be returning to classes for three weeks. Only days later as the virus became more widespread and dangerous to public health, my university closed its gates.

I was devastated, to say the least. When would I see my friends? How were my classes going to work? Would this affect my grades? When would I go back to get my belongings that were left in my dorm? How would this affect my friendships that I had spent all year building and growing? As all of these thoughts raced through my mind, the only comfort that I have found is knowing that I am not alone in this disruption. It is not just ripping me from my new life and friends, but it’s affecting high schoolers, parents with careers, our government leaders, and everyone across the world. Not only are we not allowed to go to our schools, jobs, or places of worship, but we cannot go out to eat, play sports, or even be with friends. I found myself falling into the mindset of “Well I don’t care about COVID-19 because it is not going to affect me; I’m young and healthy so I will just continue with my ‘normal’ life.”

But, as this situation has continued to progress, I must remind myself that staying home and disrupting my routine is not just going to help me. Halting my daily routine and staying home is helping thousands of people. Though I may not be in a high-risk group for COVID-19, I know people who are. My actions, though I may not enjoy them, could help prevent the spread of this disease and protect those that I love. To me, what has made this disruption easier to cope with is realizing that the best way that I can help this issue is to stay home- as boring and disruptive as it may be.

As we close our doors, stay home from school, and miss seeing our friends and family, I have found comfort in knowing that this is a unique shared experience that the world has never seen before. Never before in my life have I seen such compassion and appreciation for those who serve us every day. As I rode my bike yesterday, I saw a parade of teachers from the local elementary schools driving down the road waving and telling kids that they missed them. Companies across the U.S. have halted production to make ventilators and masks for those in need. Hospital staff have continued to work overtime for our safety. Police officers and firefighters continue to put their lives in danger to serve us. Celebrities have joined the fight and donated millions of dollars to relief efforts.

In all the suffering and disruption we may face, we are also seeing some of the greatest acts of human compassion. It can be easy to fall to a cynical mindset that all people are mean, greedy, and selfish. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought out some of the best in our society. I once heard a quote that I am reminded of in this situation: “Without suffering there would be no compassion.” While I continue to pray for those affected by this awful tragedy, I cannot forget to be thankful that humankind is displaying the utmost compassion and kindness to get us through our darkest hour.