Going Back to College During a Pandemic

 Before going back to college this semester, I was a little nervous, but mostly excited. In the spring, I went home for spring break and never went back to school. That week before spring break, I remember one of my professors saying that we might not be back to school in person after the break and I thought he was crazy. At that time, the coronavirus hadn't really reached the United States yet. It was when it was really bad in Italy and all our study abroad students were sent home, but we never imagined we would be sent home too. Fast forward to August, I was ecstatic to return to school. People kept asking me if I was nervous and I was a little, but my excitement greatly outweighed the nerves. I wasn't very nervous because my school created a lot of protocols, some of them being wearing masks everywhere outside your room, twice a week COVID testing, no visiting other dorm buildings, a mixture of online and in-person classes, spaced out classrooms, the list goes on and on. After being here for about seven weeks, I feel very safe. We received new data this week that said there have only been eight positive cases since we started testing on August 24th and those positive cases were immediately sent into isolation. However, I understand that I'm very lucky in this situation. I go to a smaller school without Greek life or other big places to party. My school is also a community that cares about the wellbeing of each other and I really think our society as a whole needs to be more like that, especially now. Personally, I get tested twice a week because I'm apart of two singing groups at my school. Don't worry, when I'm rehearsing with my singing groups we still wear masks and are spaced at least fifteen feet apart if not more. Even being immunocompromised, I feel very safe because I know my core group of friends is following all the rules and none of us have been in close contact with any of those positive cases. I really hope my school continues to follow all the rules so we can stay here for the rest of the semester. I wanted to make this post because I know a lot of people are curious about what colleges are doing and if it's even safe to be back, and in my experience, yes it is. However, you have to keep in mind that I go to a small school that has the money for extensive testing and other measures to keep us safe. 

Thank you all so much for supporting my blog! This pandemic has given me the time to consistently upload blog posts since March and I hope to continue with this schedule of every other week! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or comments through my Instagram: @endoisnottheendblog !

Me on the first day of school!