Items

• 2020

  My NU.in Experience

  Covid caused my NU.in experience to be different than it was supposed to be. I was supposed to go abroad and experience the world in a new way. I found out in February that I was accepted into the NU.in program. I was excited yet apprehensive because of the great opportunities that had just been placed in front of me. I decided to attend Northeastern in late April so I knew that I would not be going abroad. As September approached, I grew increasingly nervous, I moved into a hotel, twenty minutes from campus, and had to follow a bunch of safety precautions. I did not expect my first semester of college to go the way it did. I never expected to be wearing a mask or be so worried about what I touched. I never imagined that I would have to be tested for a disease once every three days. I quickly grew to find my new normal at the start of the semester after finishing my initial quarantine. I made socially distanced friends over zoom calls and we met up for lunch but stayed six feet away from each other. This was how I met many of my friends. I decided to keep a journal to document everything that was happening during these difficult times. At the end of the day once I had taken my mask off and washed my hands I would write about my day and how it was different from what I had once done. Dining was an interesting experience to navigate. Only a certain amount of people were allowed into the dining hall at a certain time so there were usually long lines to get into the dining hall to eat. At first, all the dining halls were takeout only. As the semester progressed, sit down options were allowed. To allow for social distancing, signs were posted on the tables to tell students how many people were allowed to sit at each table and there were people around to enforce these rules. While waiting in line to get food, everyone has to stand on a marker on the floor indicating six feet of distance to be safe and everyone is required to keep their masks on. These experiences have shaped my time in Boston. I have been able to have a safer experience during my first semester of college thanks to Northeastern’s guidelines. I have also been able to watch out for myself and others because I know that I am being tested and those that I am around are also being tested on a regular basis. Overall, being on a college campus that is so conscientious about Covid has helped shaped my understanding and has helped me be safer as well.