by Tyler English
The state of the world right now is uncertain. As someone who plans out the next few months of their life at a time, I am left here sitting whether or not the months will be taking place out in the world or trapped inside behind the lens of my laptop camera.
When Novel COVID truly reached the United States and New York began to take its precautions, I was indifferent toward the situation. The disease’s seriousness and importance of social distancing were drilled into me, especially since I work at a gym with an older member population.
As the virus spread, different aspects of daily life began closing or dramatically changing how they did business. In the span of three days, I went from having a regular life of planning dinner dates and getting ready for work in the morning, to having no stable income. The fanciest dinner date I would have would be in my room sitting by a window.
Financial Instability
My biggest fear in this pandemic was losing my job entirely and having to start anew once the virus passed. I work at Planet Fitness in Victor, New York, before the start of social isolation. I would work there anywhere from 25 to 35 hours a week to ensure that I would have enough money to pay for rent and school.
On Monday March 16, 2020 I received a call from my manager telling me that we would be closing indefinitely for the community’s safety. He stressed that I still would have my job once Planet Fitness reopened. While this gave me some sense of job security it did not provide me with the income needed for the next few weeks of my life.
The New York Times reported on March 26, 2020 that over 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment the week prior. I am one of those 3.3 million people. Currently I am waiting in the limbo between the online form and the final phone call to finalize everything. However, with busy phone lines and unclear directions, it has been over a week and a half since I have started the process and my financial situation is still unknown.
Quarantine Learning
To distract myself from all that is going on in the world I wanted to throw myself into my schoolwork. My classes all switched from in-person lectures to online-only. some making use of video conferencing and other making use of asynchronous learning.
Zoom calls and email chains have become my life now. Changes to syllabi are made constantly leaving each week as a new format of learning with new updates. It is hard to stay on top of all that is going on currently.
The internet used to be a crucial part of my learning experience with research and online activities a part of most of my classes. Now, I find myself wanting to pry myself away from my laptop. Yet at the same time it is my primary way of connecting with the outside world.
On campus I work as the Print Managing Editor for Reporter magazine which is RIT’s fully student run news magazine. With the closing of the RIT campus Reporter magazine was forced to move all of its meetings and work to virtual channels. This transition was far easier than classes due to an already established structure. As the pandemic forced us to online meetings only, the issue I am facing is my transition to my new role.
When the closings and pandemic started to affect our organization, I was at the tail end of my training for the role and was supposed to fully ascend into the role on March 27, 2020. The transition is still happening; however, I now have to assist in managing a department from a distance and hold my first meetings virtually.
I find myself lucky in this situation both with courses and with Reporter. I, unlike some students, am not taking classes that require in-person or one-on-one learning or a special space such as a lab to accomplish learning. I am a journalism major, so my course work revolves around reading, writing and creating content. I can work remotely and interview sources remotely, the situation may not be ideal but I am glad my situation is not as detrimental as it could be.
Self-Actualization
Staying indoors and working from home is not my ideal way to be spending the latter half of my spring semester but it also comes with its benefits. Working from home gives me the excuse to create a separate space in my room to use for work, where I can put my phone down and focus on my studies. It also gives me the freedom to get back into my journaling and fitness routines.
I also have the privilege of taking care of my family dog while on quarantine. My parents figured that by having him the house wouldn’t feel like a cage. He adds life to the house and lightness to the situation. He also serves as a good break from my studies when he demands attention.
Limiting contact with people and isolating with my roommates definitely is not my favorite way to spend my time, but I view this as a blessing in disguise. This may actually be a message sent from reality telling me to get back to where I was at the start of the school year and get a fresh start halfway through the semester. Here’s to hoping we return this coming fall, being indoors may be nice and all but I don’t know how much longer I can keep myself from the Reporter office, I had snacks in there.
