In my eyes, home has always been my childhood bedroom in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. I never (in a million years) imagined that State College could begin to feel like home but here we are. This week flew by and to think we all just moved in and are going to be getting ready to leave again is so sad! This week I have really been reflecting on my time here at Penn State and how much I am enjoying myself, even with all of the COVID restrictions. This week was incredibly nice for weather, and on Monday and Tuesday I made sure to get out and about to enjoy the nice weather. Walking around campus with the sun shining and most students out on the lawn made us all forget that COVID existed for a little bit and flashed us back to a peak of what normal life was once like. It’s hard to remember how we talked to one another without masks on our faces and just how we interacted.
Just as the cold winter turned into spring, this dark and scary pandemic is a lot more under control and beginning to look up. The vaccine being distributed makes us all feel a little better and has certainly lowered lowered numbers in fears. One of my neighbors in my hall has the vaccine because she works in a nursing home when she is not at Penn State and her roommate and entire friend group sadly all tested positive for COVID but she did not! Flashing back to one year ago when we had no sign of hope and looking how far our society has come is extremely impressive… everything comes with time.
I can’t help but wonder what our textbooks will say about COVID. What will our children’s children be taught about this pandemic? I also wonder how it will affect them. Did COVID speed up the process toward online textbooks and learning? Also, how will everything that is going on now impact healthcare and regular health procedures? Will maks continue to be worn? Will social distancing be a new attribute to large functions? It is all so interesting to think about. I keep thinking that “oh everything is getting better and this is almost over” but it very well could never be over. Although COVID has changed everyone’s world, I feel as though everyone learned a lot about themselves and others through quarantining. I am thankful for that past year because it has brought me to where I am now, to Penn State. After a year full of fear and disappointment, things are now starting to look up and I couldn’t be more excited.