College Life During a Pandemic

If you told me that I’d be spending my Junior year of college at school in the midst of a pandemic, I would have laughed at you. And yet, here we are. September 2020 is a month filled with strange, new, unpredictable things and attending college during this time is unprecedented to say the least. College life looks different- very different.

So what does going to school in a pandemic actually look like anyway? Well, I’m so glad you asked! I attend Wheaton College in Illinois and I am currently studying Communication-Rhetoric. Wheaton has been in session now for about two weeks and so far, we only have 3 documented cases of Covid-19 on campus. How is that possible for college life? We have set rules and guidelines to follow in order to keep us safe.

New Way of Living

“Social distancing” has become normal vernacular along with “wear your mask” and “clean your space”. Whenever we are in buildings or within 6 feet of people outside, we wear our masks. Before and after being in class, we wipe down our workspaces. The dining hall is a plexiglass warehouse and there are social distancing stickers on the floors everywhere.

Connecting with people looks different too. We stay 6 feet apart to greet one another and hugging isn’t a commonplace any longer. I now work to recognize people by their eyes and hair/body language rather than their faces. Zoom is now the easiest way to coordinate large gatherings of people safely. Even some classes are exclusively taught online.

There are some things though that haven’t changed with college life. We still connect with each other- be it virtually or socially distanced in person. Now, we still share meals, but in to-go containers while sitting outside on the lawn. We still have robust classroom discussions, though now it’s through masked faces. We still have worship nights and prayer time, but now it’s outdoors and spread out.

All the Hand Sanitizer

I also had to pack differently for this year of college life. I packed incredible amounts of hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, immune boosting drink packets, snacks and coffee. Well, I suppose the coffee habit hasn’t changed much over the years. Also, I brought lots of lotion with me to help combat the drying of my skin because of hand sanitizer. If you want to read more about my top 10 things to take pack for college, click here.

Things that have become second nature for me are putting on a mask the minute I leave my room, spraying down high touched surfaces after using them, packing my own silverware and napkins to avoid using single use plastic, and saying hello to people with a wave or an elbow bump. I mean it, even in the middle of the night, when I’m half asleep, I end up reaching for my mask before I head to the bathroom.

If you had told me these practices would become normal so quickly, I don’t know that I would have believed you. But one thing that being here has shown me is that this- these “best practices” in place to keep us safe- are really not about me. One of my friends made the point that every day we are able to stay on campus safely, is another day that countless people have their jobs.

This small comment completely helped me have a mindset shift. As much as I’d like to be here under more normal circumstances, I am willing to make the small sacrifices in order to stay here, studying in person and engaging in community. Nothing is quite the same as debating a professor in person, sharing a meal with friends without a screen in the way, and engaging in communal worship.

College Life- No Judgement

One of the most difficult things that God has been teaching me is to refrain from judgement. It is very easy for me to sit and observe others breaking the rules or compromising the guidelines and immediately judge them. It is hard for me to not feel like they are selfishly acting in such a way that could effect the rest of the campus as a whole. But then God humbles me when I forget my mask and have to walk back to my dorm. Or when I get called out by the ambassadors for not social distancing. I am not perfect. I make mistakes and I have grace for myself. However, apparently it is hard for me to have grace for others.

God is teaching me to have grace for others and step away from a heart of self-righteousness and judgement. The verse that constantly comes to mind is Matthew 7:3.

Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?

Matthew 7:3 CSB

Who am I to sit in judgement of others when I myself have so much to work on? This new kind of college life is teaching me and growing me in so many great ways. The Lord is leading me to engage with others in different ways and push myself out of my comfort zone. I am also spending much more time alone than I anticipated and that is presenting itself with a wide variety of challenges.

All Alone…..

I don’t mean to be dramatic but frankly, I am alone a lot. I’m living in a single dorm this year because my doctors suggested that I have the space to rest and continue recovery from my injury. Want to know more about my TBI experience? Read here. But I didn’t anticipate being in a single room in a pandemic. College life looks very different when you don’t have someone to come home to at the end of the day.

A good portion of my friends are either RA’s or living in apartments farther away from campus. This means I don’t see people I’m close with all that often. This also means that at the end of the day, when I’m tired and lonely, I come home to an empty room. I also wake up to an empty room. But I am discovering that God is in the empty spaces. God is in the quiet and the mundane. This time of college life is leading me to spend more time with Him in the quiet and lonely times of the day.

I anticipate God teaching me more about what it means to rest in the silence and abide in His presence. I’m working on finding the alone time as a gift and something to be treasured.

A New Normal of College Life

All in all, this is a radically unprecedented time. I had no idea what this would all entail and even now, in the midst of it, I still don’t know what to expect. With Covid testing happening regularly, masking up basically everywhere, and social distancing, I’m hoping we are able to stay in session.

I sure many of you are experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic in one way or another. In this time of staying 6 feet apart, I’d like to encourage you to physically distance, but stay socially engaged. Just because life looks different, it doesn’t have to be bad. Embrace the awkwardness, the silence, the aloneness. Embrace the newness and surrender control to Him who ultimately controls it all. Take heart my friends, none of this is a surprise to Jesus.

Hugs,