This semester, spring 2021, is the second semester in a row that I have taught ENGL 15 synchronously on Zoom.

Last semester, in the fall of 2020, I felt recharged from the summer, more prepared to teach on Zoom because of the involuntary learning that occurred at the end of the spring 2020 semester due to the pandemic.

As the fall semester began, my kids were home from elementary school on-and-off, a parental challenge, yes, but I must have been in a ‘survival’ mindset where I found ways to juggle the demands. When my fall semester students completed the blog assignment, they named the blog “I Survived 2020.” Indeed that is how it felt.

This spring, the class blog has a different feel. One of reflection. One of memorability. One of exhaustion. One of relief. One of hope.

From my chair, this blog represents a sense of their accomplishment. Closing out an academic year, primarily online, at Penn State has not been easy. In these stories, through a process of thinking and feeling, students wrote three blog posts each. No outside research was required. No academic journals or articles written by credible authors to back up their thoughts and feelings. Just them. Because, as the world moves forward, these stories – their stories – are what is going down in history.

The students who wrote this blog are only a small sampling of a much larger population of students around the world. But let’s remember that all voices matter. My hope is that in spite of the unwanted events related to the pandemic that foiled plans and forced students to adapt to a new way of life, that the resilience of human nature will speak louder than heartbreak.

As a ‘return to normal’ looks promising, the next chapter is not yet written, but wow, what an opportunity college students across the globe have in front of them. Exigence for new meaning and new discoveries.