I assume that my daily routine was similar to many other college students. Have ambitions of waking up two hours early, but fail and wake up with enough time to brush my teeth, get dressed, and leave. My 30-minute drive to DMACC’s Ankeny Campus was oddly relaxing, even though every time I get behind the wheel, I fear for my life just a little bit.
I always parked outside of Building 5, back in the farthest parking lot because it was easiest. I like the vibe of the Building 5 entrance, with Cafe X on one side and students being productive on the other. There was about a 75 percent chance I would stop by for a 20-ounce skim white mocha.
Three of my four classes are face-to-face and involve a lot of interaction with other students, either to help put the newspaper together or to discuss and workshop people’s creative writing. I had classes from Monday through Friday, so I spent a lot of my time at DMACC.
Outside of class, I worked at a movie theater. I spent a lot of time at home, either with my girlfriend or on my computer.
Now, with the campus being shut down, classes being delivered online, and everybody in self-isolation, I am missing this old routine that I used to take for granted.
I miss those mildly terrifying drives to class. At the time of writing this, I haven’t driven my car in a week and a half. Soon I need to go on a little drive so it isn’t just sitting, as well as to give myself some modicum of an adventure.
I make my own coffee now which, while saving me a lot of money, just isn’t the same as visiting a cafe. I’m running out of grounds, so even this might not last much longer unless I break quarantine to find some.
A lot of my time is spent watching my girlfriend play the new Animal Crossing game and watching YouTube. It still feels like I am on vacation, even though my classes are starting back up.
My classes already used Blackboard a lot, which means that doing and submitting the work should be business as usual, but I prefer going to the classes in person; it puts me in the mood to learn. I pay attention better when in a place of learning and am not surrounded by technology and distractions.
What gets me about this whole thing is that, if you don’t look at the news, nothing feels like it is wrong. You cannot see the virus, which makes it both more terrifying and more surreal; like a ghost.
The past few nights, my family and I have been spending time out in our backyard next to our fire pit. It is chilly, but a couple of blankets and flame make it cozy.
Surprisingly, I haven’t gotten sick of my family yet. In fact, I have enjoyed spending all this extra time with them. We have started eating at the table again and we got a subscription to Starz so we could have an Alfred Hitchcock marathon.
It’s funny; it took being isolated due to a global pandemic to realize how little interaction I have with the people around me.
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