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Everything started shutting down one year ago because of COVID-19. I remember thinking, “What’s the big deal?” and “Why are we all freaking out over this?” 

Even when my high school told us school was off for two weeks, I still didn’t think much of it. Like many others I knew, I celebrated because I wanted two weeks off of school. During this time, I was still going to work, going out to restaurants and going to my friends’ houses.

But one day, my parents told me to come home from my friend’s house. We were going into a strict quarantine. This was the moment I knew everything was going to be different. I started canceling trips I had saved up for, stopped seeing my friends and spent day after day doing the same activities in quarantine.

Looking back, I can’t believe everything I used to take for granted. Going to work, going to school, having people to talk to no matter what, the routine of my life, the feeling of purpose and belonging. Just one day, poof, and all that was gone. Normal life was gone.

During quarantine, I liked that I had more time to spend with my family. My brother, my sister and I played board games all day and binge-watched Tiger King, Outer Banks and The Great British Bake-Off all night. 

For the first few months, I remember naively feeling that COVID-19 would just end at some point, that everything would go back to normal before summer. Then, when summer arrived, I told myself that everything would go back to normal before I went to college. Then, I had to quarantine here at Syracuse University, and it hit me. 

COVID-19 will not end anytime soon. It may take until 2024 — the year I graduate — for normal life to return, according to some reports. If that’s true, I will not have a single “normal” year of my college experience.

That’s what frustrates me the most. I don’t know if I will end up having any year of a normal college life. I stay in my dorm most of the day. I haven’t been able to meet many people outside of my dorm. I don’t know what college is supposed to be like without a pandemic standing in the way.

But then, I have to take a step back and remind myself of how good I have it. At least I am able to be here at SU with a couple of in-person classes. At least I can be on campus, go to the Barnes Center at The Arch, eat in the dining halls and go out to eat downtown. It may not be the most fun to be unable to have the “normal” college experience, but it could be so much worse.

I’m only a freshman, too. I have no idea what I’m even missing out on because I’ve never even experienced regular college life. I can’t imagine the experiences older students are missing.

But, we’re all here, and that’s what matters. 

Joining clubs, doing random activities and going on adventures has helped me the most. I’ve joined the ski team, started doing research with my professor and joined a sorority on campus. While I might not have the exact college experience I had envisioned throughout high school, I still have a community of friends here on campus.

Reflecting on this year, I’ve realized a couple of things. First, I now know that too much free time is not really a good thing. But the second thing quarantine taught me was that you don’t have to be productive to feel good about yourself. I realized that it was okay if I did absolutely nothing all day because my self-worth should not be dependent on my productivity. And thirdly, I learned that quality time with family is incredibly important to me. Before having to spend all that time with my family, I didn’t really realize how important family was to me. Now, I know that family is one of the most important things there is. 

Most importantly, quarantine taught me that change is inevitable. While this may sound cliche, it’s incredibly true. I always understood that my life could change at any moment, but I never realized this fully until COVID-19 hit. 

One year ago, I took the routine of my daily life for granted. But now, a year into this loss of normalcy, I have come to cherish the little things in life.

Melanie Wilder is a freshman information management and technology major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at [email protected].

Published on March 14, 2021 at 8:06 pm