Month: May 2020

You never appreciate what you have until you lose it. This is a lesson that I learned the hard way three weeks into the “remote learning experience” at UCI– well, actually at home, on my laptop.

The COVID-19 crisis has not only ruined spring-break and spring-quarter plans for a lot of people, but it also has made a lot of students realize that maybe going to school is not so bad.

There are things that I miss about UCI before the COVID-19 crisis, including the amazing omelets that the chefs and employees would cook at the dining halls for breakfast, the workouts that I would receive walking up the “Bio Sci Hill” and during dance practice, the club events that I would go to, the in-person office hours and midterm review sessions (and WAY less work), going to the eSports Arena and Wellness Room whenever I was feeling down, and hanging out with my friends at the food court. Not to mention the little “ZotBots”, a.k.a. the Starship delivery bots that would be zooming all around Ring Road.

Coming back home to LA meant an early spring break that was quickly cut short by the rapid closures of shops, restaurants, and other hangouts that I would normally frequent when out of school. It has gotten so bad to the point where you can’t even go outside without worrying about getting fined by the police for not wearing a mask/gloves in certain areas, or for not following protocol regarding social distancing. This makes online-delivery giants like Jeff Bezos laugh all the way to the bank. You have to start relying on apps like Doordash and UberEats (I ordered my second meal today with UberEats, but that was only because of the promos they were giving me, plus the cash-back with Samsung Pay) to get your fast food. I remember one time when I had to call In N Out from outside of the restaurant because customers were not allowed inside. Cost-wise, it is not fun paying tons of extra money in delivery fees, taxes, and a bunch of other fees when using food-delivery apps.

My father does not get a break because of the organization that he works for— he is considered an essential worker. I pray that he does not get sick, but he depends on God and the advice from the CDC to keep him going. He is still waiting for his stimulus check to be mailed to him, but I have heard that some families may not even qualify for it, which is depressing given the fact that they pay so much taxes, and their jobs could possibly be at risk.

I just can’t wait until we are allowed to go outside again and resume life as normal. I want to go on dates with my boyfriend and do fun teenage things again. I want to get a job, go to Disneyland, explore my city, make the most out of my youth.

UCI has just begun what can be considered the strangest quarter to date. The shift this quarter to remote learning is an unprecedented change for the majority of UCI, and students and staff alike have had to adjust accordingly.  So with zoom replacing the lecture halls, and my on-campus walk shortening to one where I go from my bed to my desk, let’s recount how the beginning of this quarter has gone!

This shift from on-campus to at-home life has given me more time to myself which I oddly have appreciated. I used to rely on social activities as my preferred medium of self-care but from last quarter especially, I seemed to sense that there was less time to sit and reflect. I was incredibly fortunate during spring break that I could return to the comfort of my home and take a substantial amount of time to retract from the chaos of college life and think of what I could be doing to stay on track.

So given this three goals I formed for this quarter were:

1. Stay organized
   • Though I set goals to stay motivated and committed to my work this quarter, I obviously could not predict how online learning would really be like until actually beginning instruction. So whether a class requires online attendance or is non-synchronous (gives a deadline for homework but relies on the student to learn material through pre-recorded material), school has called for little more organization and discipline. This is where an even more detailed schedule comes in handy as I continue to navigate an at-home routine as the visualization of deadlines helps remind me of pacing and other factors necessary for effective learning
2. Recognize the need for self-care and set aside time to practice it.
   • Now more than ever is a time where self-care is the most important. I’ve noticed many occasions where I start to get antsy or bored and wonder what I should be doing. Having more time to myself means there are more ways to approach self-care: develop a home workout, cook a new recipe, clean, play some video games, or most of all, practice mindfulness. There are a lot of options to daily life at home but sometimes what is really needed is the time to just think instead of doing. This time for reflection allows me to feel centered and composed which is essentially what must come out of self-care.
3. Stay connected.
   • Of course being at home can get lonely as well so I set a goal to be able to have time for my family and friends of all sorts. Along with spending time with my family at home I have been managing the large amount of time on zoom. Socialization and extracurriculars are basically now all on zoom and while I am grateful for this platform to be able to provide moments of connection, the time spent on my devices does take a toll. This will be the challenge of this quarter- finding the balance between all three of my goals and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Nevertheless I hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. With college life continuing to take place off-campus (ASUCI elections, new admitted Anteaters) I am glad to see that our community is still connected. I encourage everyone to continue to likewise reach out to others this quarter and help quarantine feel a little less lonely. We got this. *Virtual Zot Zot Zot*