CHLOE KOWALYK
Special to The Leader
The outbreak of COVID-19 hit me just as hard as I’m sure it hit all of you.
It was as if everything had fallen to the ground, shattering into pieces.
Each piece was a memory that would not be made — our final musical, our senior prom, our graduation.
There would be no more days laughing with friends on our way to class.
No more memories to be made staying late at school to help out with our favorite clubs.
No more events to plan for the school year, each one canceled.
We had no idea that on March 13, we would not only be walking out the doors of our high school for the last time, but that we would also be exiting a chapter of our lives prematurely.
That was it. I was starting college now.
I felt almost as if I had grown up quickly in the months spent in quarantine, with news that there were growing positive cases of a global pandemic.
At first, I was in disbelief. My friends, my teachers and I all believed that we would be back in June.
No one expected that we would never return.
After finding out we weren’t going back, everything went numb.
I was crushed that I had just missed out on what I had been told would be the greatest year of my life.
I was deeply troubled that this virus had not gone away “in a few weeks” like we had been told.
I struggled with the fact that this was very real, and people were getting sick and dying.
Fear had stricken me, and I had no idea what to expect at Fredonia.
Arriving at Fredonia, I was welcomed with joyfulness and optimism.
I was a little weary, attending school and living on a college campus in such a time, but I was at ease seeing everyone practicing social-distancing and wearing masks.
The compliance of most students was very admirable.
Making friends and meeting new people poses quite a challenge when you need to stand six feet apart and cover half of your face.
It’s comical trying to smile at someone when you see them in Willy C’s or trying to confirm that you do recognize them, and aren’t just raising your eyebrows at a confused student.
My classes are a pretty good mix of online and in-person. For all of my classes, the professors are very understanding and accommodating.
Fredonia has done a very good job of making sure that we don’t feel distant and isolated.
Several activities are available safely on Zoom or in-person with proper guidelines in place.
With clubs starting up, I have found something valuable to put my time into.
However, college now is not what I expected back in 2018 when I was looking into schools and taking tours.
I never imagined that we would be going through a global pandemic and the amount of responsibility that we students would hold to keep the community safe.
I never imagined that the notorious COVID-19 would make its way so casually into my everyday life.
Adding in the word “mask” to my daily recitation of “keys, wallet and phone,” as to not forget anything before going somewhere has become second nature.
It is seemingly muscle memory for me to go straight to my hand sanitizer as soon as I walk into the room, being cautious not to touch anything.
Something I’ve learned throughout quarantine and this bizarre time is that getting yourself out of your comfort zone is very crucial.
I have learned that I cannot expect myself to grow as a person without having the courage to do something unfamiliar to me.
Writing about what you already know is no way to become better.
This semester is nothing like any of us could have imagined, but let’s try to make the most of what we have.
Optimism and hope are our greatest weapons.
Be safe, and wear your mask.