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  2020-10-11

  No Summer in Wisconsin

  In January I had heard a few reports of COVID-19 starting to spread into the United States, but it wasn't until late March and early April that the whole thing became very real. I remember the day before UWSP officially announced that it would be sending people home. I was with all my friends in my dorm. I remember looking at one another and saying our goodbyes just in case we were all having to pack up the next day. I personally didn't like the dorms very much, but leaving earlier than I was expecting was particularly hard. The semester before I had gone home because of a death in the family. I was unable to cope with it and school. So the fact that I had to leave once again after having had two great roommates was a blow to my pride in returning. When I came home it felt very strange. Suddenly I had all this time off without really wanting it. My plans for the summer were originally to go to Japan for the Guy Healy Program, but that didn’t pan out. I didn't want to go back to work and I had some time before online classes kicked in. However, that’s when a long-awaited release appeared. On March 20th, Animal Crossing: New Horizons released on the Nintendo Switch. I ordered it to arrive the day of, and that game took up an enormous amount of my time. With classes ending and the summer beginning, there was still not too much happening. I put down Animal Crossing after playing it for a total of 655 hours (about 27 days). I felt empty and useless. I wanted to see my friends and enjoy the summer with them. I wanted to have an income but was still afraid to go in public. When I spoke to my mother about this she responded “The virus isn't happening anymore”. I spent most of my time sleeping and depressed. That’s when I decided to buy something I thought to be only for rich people. I bought an Oculus Quest AKA a virtual reality headset. I figured, since I wasn’t spending any of my money on going places, I’ll buy something to allow me to do so. As July began I grew frustrated with the limitations of my headset. Because of its limited processing power, I couldn't see all the places and people that I wanted to. So, that led me to my second large purchase. I bought a gaming pc (in my defense it was $100 off!) Immediately after placing my order, I got a job. I was very afraid of being around people, but I needed to get some of my funds back. I started working at one of the Dollar Generals in town and my goodness was it a shit show. To paraphrase: there was a new manager, numerous new employees, stricter rules, a coin shortage, numerous item shortages, I was the only employee who wore a mask every day until I left, and most customers did not wear a mask even after the federal mandate. I legitimately wished for death by the time August ended and had my medication dosage increased. Every day that went by was a day closer to me leaving and living in my new apartment in Stevens Point. On September 1st my roommate and I moved into our new apartment. I was so relieved and so happy to be far away from my reckless and conservative family. I was now closer to my school, my friends, and now I could plan my own meals! Classes began on the 2nd and they were entirely online, except for one. It was very strange waking up and not going anywhere. For the next few weeks my days went the same: wake up, eat breakfast, attend classes, eat again/nap, attend more classes, play games, do homework, go to bed. Over and over and over.. I started to feel like I was going a bit mad. Sure, I spent a bit of time with a select group of friends and went out to buy groceries, but I was starting to falter in my classes. I was sleeping through class, forgetting to finish my homework, and struggling to fall asleep. Feeling like I had nothing left in me, I made a few changes to my life. For one, I began eating healthier and taking my pills every day. I also had my dosage doubled again. Secondly, I started to work out a bit with a new friend of mine. Finally, I have been trying to fix my sleep schedule so I can have time in the morning to work on things and wake up for school. These last few weeks have by far been the craziest of them all. With the presidential election and Wisconsin's rising COVID-19 cases, it’s hard to find a sense of peace. I am home at the moment watching my little sister because my mother and step-father went to South Dakoda for their 10th anniversary. Last week I learned that my grandfather became infected, and today I learned that two of my cousins have now tested positive. The lack of fresh food at the house is driving me insane and I honestly just want to go back to my apartment. I can only hope that November won’t be as insane as I expect it to be. But hey, at least I have my 21st birthday coming up in December!
• 2020-10-11

  In the Pandemic Journey

  I am an international student from Colombia. I was in the middle of my fourth semester as a sophomore in college when I heard that the pandemic hitting the world just entered the U.S. I was excited at the time because my girlfriend and I bought tickets to go to New York City during spring break. I thought we were going until I heard that New York City was a hot spot for COVID-19. We did not want to risk anything, especially if we were going to encounter a virus that was completely unknown to us, so we cancelled the trip, but the airline still gave us the tickets to fly anytime between then and the end of 2022. After that, spring break came, and it was announced that the university was closed after spring break and we would have to go completely online. I live with my girlfriend since I first came to the U.S., so I stayed with her at her home that is two hours from the university we are enrolled in. We finished the rest of the semester there at her home. We then stayed for another month there and while we were in complete isolation we took advantage of that to go running together to be healthy, we did not let ourselves get bored, we were always doing something, we would do zoom video calls with our friends, watch movies, play video games, etc. After that we came back to Stevens Point to work on campus for the summer (with the required restrictions) so we could make some money to pay for our tuition. Though this is considered by many one of the worst years they’ve lived in, I had the most fun summer since I first came to the U.S – me, my girlfriend, and our friends had a blast; we hung out almost every day, we went to isolated beaches and went on boat rides, we had bonfires, we partied amongst ourselves, we went hiking, we went biking, we played soccer, etc. When the summer was over, we went back to classes and I got also got interested in learning new languages, so I downloaded the app called Duolingo to learn Portuguese and practice some other languages. Since Spanish and Portuguese are so similar, I am quickly picking up the language. I started my junior year in college, and I could not be happier with the classes I picked. My girlfriend and I thought that since we have classes online and more time at home, it would be the perfect time to get a dog, so we adopted a Doxiepoo, the combination of a Dachshund and a miniature poodle. She is 4 months and we have had a lot of time to train her and we couldn’t be happier with her. Everyone has their ways of coping, and with this ongoing journey through a global pandemic, I have learned that my way of coping is not only adjusting to the situation but also taking advantage of the variety of opportunities that arrive and make the best out of it. This pandemic has taught me in a way that just because we are adjusting, we should not stop living in the moment and while I understand that for some people this pandemic might be harder, it is up to us to either make it a living hell or make it one of the most memorable experiences of our life.