Photo Essay

Reflection:

I did not expect college during a pandemic to be anything like it actually was. I expected to have very few friends since everyone was either at home or boarded up in their dorm room all day. I expected to get bored in my room very easily and be on my phone a lot. I also expected The University of Maryland to send us home within the first few weeks of being on campus. And all of these things scared me. I am a very social person who thrives on interaction with others. If I am isolated from others I do not function well, and my hopes for staying on campus were that I would be able to meet and hang out with others who also felt isolated at home. This ended up being the case and I have already made so many friends on campus. I almost chose to stay home for the semester but with all of the new people I met this semester, I am so glad I didn’t. I don’t know what I would have done this semester if I did not have these friends by my side all the way through. UMD did much better with COVID than I had expected as well. The first case on campus was just one floor above me and I was sure we’d be sent home in a matter of weeks. However, we are still on campus to this day, and more students have been following the rules than I had expected.  

            Being on campus, I still felt a little isolated. I had friends who lived in other dorm halls who I did not see as often, and I had my hometown friends, a lot of them at home since their colleges were closed for the semester. I missed my mom and felt isolated from my home life, but this allowed me to grow into a new and better person, someone I want to continue to develop through college. I wanted to start fresh in college and I did just that. I let go of friendships that were toxic, even if the person went to UMD with me, and this was freeing. I didn’t feel tied down and it allowed me to make new, better friendships. This can all be seen in my photo essay. I photographed isolated individuals in their common COVID environment. Whether sitting alone on a bus, taking a late-night walk alone, or studying alone, this was the semester of isolation.

            Being in college in a pandemic has taught me true resilience. Living through a pandemic in general is a very mentally and physically challenging thing to do and living on campus only added to the strain. The constant stress of COVID was a heavy weight on my back but being in college reminded me that I have come this far in life. I can push through this. Being in college this year meant a lot to me. Being in college during an election year and a major historical event is a thrilling and highly memorable experience. Being in scholars meant I had a smaller community that I could open up to about my feelings and experiences in the pandemic. Almost everyone on my floor is in Media scholars and having them by my side this semester was something very valuable to me. They’ve been through the same experiences as me, we all learn together, and we are all pushing through together. This can also be seen in my photo essay. We watched for the election results together, found out the final election results together, explored DC together, and more (all done safely of course). The smaller community that is scholars is what, in the end, really helped me survive this semester. After all, it is Media, Self and 2urviv4l.