2020,

it started in the aftermath of the Australia wildfires and grew into a global pandemic, it is a year like no other. As the year continued students across the country were sent home and were forced to tackle their education from home. For high school seniors, this meant not getting a proper goodbye from the teachers, coaches, and their classmates that they had spent the past four years with. However, they were hopeful for college, having a fresh start with the pandemic behind them. As the fall semester rapidly approached incoming freshmen soon realized that their hope for a fresh start was mistaken for the pandemic was still at large impacting people across the globe. Entering college meant a whole new set of obstacles that would have to be battled alongside a global pandemic. This pandemic impacted everyone in ways that they could not imagine, and for me, that meant splitting my freshmen experience into two separate stories. 

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 Coming onto campus before the start of the first semester during a pandemic proposed many issues to worry about. One of which was the possibility of being isolated however, this worry was quickly addressed. My floor was full of social, open, and kind people all eager to safely meet new people despite the pandemic. As the semester developed I quickly found myself apart of a group of students, all of whom are Media Scholars, that I can safely call my friends and my people. As a group throughout the semester, we faced the challenges of being a freshman at college during a pandemic together, trying to make memories while also being safe. Another stressor that we faced was the election, which we faced together. We continued throughout the semester to make memories, have fun, be safe, and balance our school work. While making memories with my new friends at school I also tried to stay in touch with my friends who were forced to start at home, some of whom were struggling, feeling isolated, and frustrated. I tried to keep their spirits up and provide hope for them that it will get better while continuing to make memories with my new friends. However, as Thanksgiving fast approached all students on campus were faced with the decision of whether to go home until the Spring semester or to stay at school until winter break. While most of my friends on campus decided to stay at school I elected to go home. 

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As quickly as my semester started it shifted into a whole no obstacle to tackle. Now at home, I was forced to balance spending time with my family, the worsening pandemic, safely reaching out with my friends at home and school, and my school work. With Thanksgiving only a few days away my family and I decided to break tradition and decorate for Christmas. I was also able to rekindle a love of mine, baking, by baking some homemade holiday gingerbread cookies. Coming home also meant that I was able to see my two dogs, Emmi and Rigi. While at home the pandemic continued to grow and worsen, thus limiting the amount of contact that I could have with my friends in my hometown. This allowed me to reflect on the college experience that they have been having since the start of the semester, and how difficult it was for them to not experience any normal aspects of college life. 

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The pandemic truly did split my college experience into two separate stories, two sides of the same coin, in many ways: being on-campus vs. being at home, new-friends vs. old-friends, and making memories vs. being safe. 

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