I think that it is safe to say that the Coronavirus pandemic has called for lots of transition, adjustment, and reworking. I know this is the case for me. My name is Ashley Lucas. I am a junior music major who is now attempting to learn and work from my bedroom at home. I will admit, it has been quite the struggle for me so far.
My life at school is constantly surrounded by music. I’m a music major and I work in the music department. I spend 75% of my time in Hill Hall. I am in the soprano/alto section of the Glee Club. It is literally music all day. When we got the news that all classes would be transitioned to online, I remember thinking “I did not enroll in an online school. How am I going to learn music theory online? How am I going to continue to sing with my glee girls?” I spent the next few days trying to figure out how someone like me, who does not learn well from online instruction, was going to navigate the transition to online learning while also trying to make the best of it.
The first week for me was really just a transition week. I was trying to figure it out and my professors were trying to figure it out. By the end of the week, I found myself to be sad and overwhelmed. I was sad for my senior friends missing their last semester, sad because our concert was canceled, overwhelmed at trying to re-work my schedule on top of trying to make sure that we were prepared at home to deal with a pandemic. I spent the weekend trying to soak it all in.
This week I still find myself in moments of overwhelming emotions, but it’s getting easier by the day. My professors and my work have been flexible and understanding during this unprecedented time. It took me a bit to realize that this is all new to them as well and that I need to be extending the same patience and understanding to them as they are to me.
These are times that call for compassion, understanding, and flexibility as we try to navigate our new world. Ask how your friends and family are doing and see if you can do anything for them (from six feet apart of course because social distancing). You never know what struggles people are facing as they try to navigate this.