Photo by Michael Mandigo
By Michael Mandigo, Staff Writer
There is one thing we know for sure about quarantine life: it really sucks, but we have been enduring.
As students, we have all felt the impact of COVID-19. All the memories and college activities we would have experienced were sacrificed for the sake of our safety and the safety of our communities.
It wasn’t until I was walking in downtown Princeton, looking for pictures to take for an assignment, when I personally felt the impact of these unique and stressful times.
In the picture attached to this article, at the front gate of Princeton University, time seems to stand still as what is normally an area full of activity such as students socializing and tourists taking pictures is now a desolate monument to better times.
There is no presence of people whatsoever except for two individuals wearing face masks, a reminder of the times we currently live in.
For now, these are the times that we live in, but eventually this lawn will be full of students and tourists again and things will hopefully go back to the way they were before.
In the meantime, students all over the country are handling this pandemic in different ways.
First off, I think it is important to mention that we are all just trying to stay healthy through this.
Apart from trying to stay healthy, we have been faced with different challenges.
I personally hate the online classes. Never in my life have I lacked the motivation to do work or focus to stay on track. For many college students, home is the place where we don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff; we can just focus on having a good time, spending time with our families or reconnecting with friends from our childhoods.
The thing is, because of school, we can’t enjoy these things to their fullest potential, either.
As for classes themselves, its been personally hard for me to focus and concentrate on working because again, home is where you don’t do work.
Its not all gloom and doom however; some amazing things have come out the isolation of quarantine.
Like Princeton, colleges across the United States are shut down, gloomy and waiting for people to return; while these universities wait, people have been dusting off their guitars, picking up those gloves, getting back into those healthy habits, finding new hobbies and so much more.
At Susquehanna, the Museums and Anthropology class has put out a website cataloging the stories of the people who have been out on the front lines working, showing us all the hard work many have contributed to this health crisis.
They have also created a YouTube channel to share the stories of students as they react to the unfolding pandemic in real time.
Needless to say, there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is so much to be optimistic about in such a dark time. I think we need to be positive about a situation that sucks.
One day, the lawn of Princeton will be filled again with students and tourists. They will bring with them their own stories, share their new hobbies and life will return to normal again.