If I told you I was expecting this to happen, I’d be lying. I love reading the news. I love learning from every article and I find it fascinating how the economy, politics, and the world itself has a pretty consistent flow of current events. Sure, the politicians change and the GDP rises, but when it comes down to it, things don’t really change all that much. I remember clicking on a small article in the Wall Street Journal that I read during breakfast. The article talked about how four people in Wuhan, China had contrated a virus some doctor dubbed Coronavirus for its crownlike studs that it uses to insert DNA into host cells. I expected this to be just another thing. Just like the “super-bug” scares that seem to pop up quarterly, but never really result in much. I didn’t think much of it, but continued to follow the story, which made its way higher and higher up the front page of the Wall Street Journal. It really caught my attention when the WSJ reported 30,000 cases in Wuhan, China. Still, I figured there was no way I’d be affected. No way that disease could make it here from China. No way it would be able to take over a city like it did in China. I could not have been more wrong.
I write this in a Lyft heading to Connecticut from Brown’s campus in Rhode Island after pulling what some may have called an emergency exit. Earlier this week, like a set of dominoes, American universities started cancelling school and telling their students not to come back from Spring Break, indicating a transition to online learning. I waited as the administrators of my school worked through a decision as news of more and more schools cancelling flooded out. Finally, Brown’s President Christina Paxson issued an announcement letting us know that classes would be cancelled until resuming online after spring break. She said we would all need to leave by March 21, the date we were all hoping to be leaving for Spring Break, however, today, the school demanded all students leave by March 16, just days after they had let us know we would need to pack our things and move out.
The move was sudden and unexpected, it felt like the loss of a loved one. I am grieving the loss of my freshman year. Truth be told, even my deep sadness cannot outweigh the gratitude I have for the people, teachers, and location that I am so sad to be leaving. The fact that I am so distraught about leaving Brown shows how deeply I am connected and affected by my experience every day.
This semester, I really pushed myself. I hated how much time I had last semester after losing lacrosse, I hate being idle, and I love being busy. I set myself up with a five course schedule, tacking on financial accounting to an already demanding schedule because I figured navigating financial statements would benefit me in my summer job. I applied to some clubs and figured if they don’t work out, it’ll be nice to have the academic challenge. Much to my excitement, everything worked out, however, I had no idea the demands that lay ahead of me. I taught myself to manage my time better, so that I could take time to relax and enjoy being with my friends while still being producing and doing what needed to get done.
I have learned so much about myself, my body, my mind, even how to grow a decently thick beard! I write this letter with a heavy heart, holding onto the vision of my best friends waving me goodbye as I peered through the window of the car. Just one memory of many from the last few months that make me think, how lucky am I?
This whole coronavirus thing is crazy. It’ll change the world; we will talk about this for years to come. We are living.
Life is so rich,
J
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