COVID College Life

I attend Westmont College in the hills of Montecito in Santa Barbara California. I am planning obtaining a Bachelors in Fine Art with a minor in Economics & Business. With the ways that world has drastically changed within the past months I have learned to embrace the unknown and ride the wild waves that this season brings.

Last Year of Normal?

It was the second week of March and I was on a surf trip with two friends headed up the coast for our spring break, where our only worry was if there were any waves or not. I distinctly remember sitting in the car as we were heading on up from San Louis Obispo to Big Sur, when I felt that fateful email notification from my college. It read that we would only be away from school for two weeks and assured us that we would be back to finish off the year. Well, as we all know, 2020 is the year of plot twists and adventures. Westmont, along with most institutions around the world, remained online for the whole semester despite the original intentions. This was no "cultural shock" for me as I went to high school at a college prep hybrid, where half was in person and half at home, unfortunately, others did not have it as easy.

Finals finished up and summer hit. I remained optimistic to opportunities that would arise despite losing out on my internship in Singapore. I got a job at jamba Juice (second best to studying abroad ammiright) and made some chill friends. Externally I seemed fine, but internally I was trapped in my head. I realized I needed to decompress and process everything that had just happened not only in my personal life but also the experiences I had just lost out on. I used this time to figure out my future, who I want to be, what I like, dislike, etc. along with healing from some emotional rollercoasters of hurt that happened throughout Freshman and Sophomore year. This was probably the first moment in a long time where I have been forced to be alone with my thoughts and pain. The process hurt. a lot. Not going to sugarcoat that one. I had lost a lot, like many others around me. Opportunities, traveling, friendships, seeing family, 'once in a lifetime' moments (If you are reading this right now, then you probably can relate on some level). I needed time to grieve every feeling of loss...which took me time to realize that this is what I needed to do. This process was difficult, slow, and very lonely for me (especially being so extraverted and people/experience oriented)....but I made it through and it has been so rewarding. At times I thought it would never end, but I am so thankful for the process and the good solitude COVID has brought.

Now, I leave for my junior year of college in a week where I will be living on my own for the first time in my life in Santa Barbara (3 hours away from home). This is my next adventure and I will keep you posted on how this journey goes.