Column by Heather Rolfert
Ascending the Lift Hill: Before the Chaos
It was the second semester of my freshman year, and it seemed like everything was going to go more smoothly than the first semester. My first semester was like a huge test, seeing if I could function in a large campus where it was easy to get lost in the maze of buildings and hallways.
As it happens with completing one full semester, I now knew where more campus halls were located—even if there are still too many to count. Hopefully, more time on campus would help me solidify my mental map of Miami.
Halfway through my second semester, the day of Tuesday, March 10, started off as a normal day at home in Cincinnati. I woke up at the same time as every other morning (7:40 a.m. with the alarm). I basically jumped out of bed to turn off my alarm. I typically set the volume on 17 since I couldn’t take the chance of waking up late.
I didn’t waste any time as I got ready to head to my car for the commute to Miami. People had told me that they found driving to Oxford to be an utterly boring drive; too much of a straight shot. I actually loved the drive. Alternative music and time alone to think created the best atmosphere for driving.
Once I pulled into the Ditmer parking lot, I was met with the dreaded 15 minute walk to class—well, sometimes I dreaded it. Everything depended on the amount of books that I had to carry for the day. Some days happened to have lighter loads than others. Like every other day, I had enough time to spare (roughly 10-15 minutes) once I trudged up the stairs to the third floor of Bachelor Hall.
At the beginning of my morning class, the professor and other students mentioned that a drastic change might happen for Miami sometime that day. But with each step I took and every song I listened to on my way to my classes that day, the thought slowly slipped my mind.
I arrived home at pretty much the exact same time as every other Tuesday. I had to work at the North Central Branch Public Library that night, which meant an early dinner for me. Oh well. I had adapted to that schedule rather quickly because there was no way I was going to eat after 9 p.m. After my early dinner, I decided to check my email for any new ones before I had to leave. Checking my email was almost a compulsory habit. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact number of times that I would check my email throughout the day.
My eyes suddenly snapped to an email from Miami’s president. As I clicked on it, my eyes scanned through the words as my brain attempted to process them. Slowly and then rather suddenly, I realized that everything was going to change. Classes would be chaotic now until the middle of April, with online ones taking the place of in person classes.
Even though online classes appeared to be a part of teaching that came easy for colleges, that was not the case. With the new normal thrown into the faces of teachers and students alike, time was limited for fabricating new plans. I now knew that the path for the rest of the semester was not going to be straight or even paved. Instead, it would become muddy and rocky with hills and dips leading towards dead ends and even blocked ways.
I didn’t have enough time to let the words from the email properly sink in. I still had to get to work on time, after all. I could not justify being late when I lived close to the library. But the email and its incredible message came up at work a lot faster than I thought it would.
When I arrived at the library, I made a beeline to the desk where my co-worker (and best friend who went to Miami Hamilton) was sitting. As soon as I asked her about the email, we immediately started chatting nonstop. She told me how she was confused about the email we both received and I confessed to her that I felt just as lost. We could not truly offer complete clarity to one another, but it was the fact that we were not alone in our confusion that kept us going.
Thoughts consumed my mind as I proceeded to go about shelving books. Even though I understood the email when I first saw it, I was still nervous about how I would not be commuting the next morning; a small part of me feared that I would miss my Wednesday classes. Because of that (and my fear of missing things), I constantly checked my email to ensure that I had read and comprehended the words correctly.
A few days later, on Friday, chaos took hold the moment I received another email from Miami’s president. This email opened my eyes to the new normal for the rest of the semester: Online classes.
The First Drop into Chaos: The Journalism Story
My trip down the rocky path of chaos began with complications with a journalism assignment for one of my classes. I had to write a profile story about the Oxford Lane Library Branch Manager, Rebecca Smith.
I was texting my friend/co-worker on Friday morning, and she asked if I had received a call from the library. I quickly sent my fingers flying across the keyboard on my phone to reply that I had not. Shortly after that she sent a text that set my heart beating: North Central would be closing on Saturday.
Right at that moment, realization slapped me in the face. I desperately needed the interview for my story, and if one library implemented the closure, there was the possibility of others following suit. My panic slowly subsided after I frantically searched online for the Lane Libraries’ website and read that their hours were still normal. Although my relief did not last long.
I made the mistake of refreshing the home page on the website. In a bold orange banner across the top of the website, my eyes scanned the words saying that the Lane Libraries would be closing due to COVID-19, just like North Central where I worked. My panic resurfaced as I realized that I had less time to contact the Oxford Lane Library to find a way to speak to the branch manager.
Eventually, my efforts paid off when Smith contacted me a few minutes after I had called the library. She gave me a rough estimate of when she would contact me—sometime during the weekend—for the interview.
So unfortunately, my weekend was spent with my phone being glued to my side and the volume turned all the way up since I had no idea what time or day my phone would ring. I was not going to miss the moment when my phone rang or an email was sent to my phone. I did not want to miss my opportunity.
The Harsh Loop: Normal Life? Not Anymore
Normalcy. I found that rather hard to come by with anything and everything. One morning my grandma needed to go to the grocery store and she intended to be in the parking lot before 7 a.m. I agreed to go with her even though I did not believe that it mattered what time she got there (it was just a grocery store after all). Although I could not have been more wrong when we pulled into the parking lot.
My eyes stumbled upon a line of people stretched from the front door, around the side of the store, and snaking down the sidewalk. My grandma intentionally left early to get ahead of the rush, but it seemed like her intentions had failed. As we walked to the end of the line, it occurred to me that a lot of the people must have got to the store a long time before 6:30 a.m. I never thought that I would be standing in a line outside of any store, much less a grocery store.
Once inside, my grandma prompted me to head to the paper aisle since she hoped to get toilet paper. As I made my way to that aisle, I discovered another shock. Another line just for people to get toilet paper. Yet again, that was another sight I never thought I would see. As I waited in the line to get a pack of toilet paper, a thought popped into my mind: The baking aisle on Thanksgiving Day was the only time I ever thought I would see a line in a grocery store.
Neither of us stumbled upon any more curiosities, but checkout lines twisted and turned down other aisles as my grandma maneuvered her cart through the mass of people, attempting to maintain the six feet distance. Waiting in line at the grocery store was always terrible when I was little, yet the lines moved surprisingly fast. I guess that happens when many people are chatting to others around them about the new item limits.
Hitting the Brakes: A New View with Online and Quarantine
Quarantine signaled the beginning of online classes and slowly morphed my routine into a new one. I discovered that without commuting back and forth to Miami, allocating extra time in the morning to ensure being on time to class was unnecessary. It was very odd, more odd than words could express. I strived for routine in my life, so I attempted to bring it back. Even so, I did not plan on complaining about extra sleep.
Unfortunately, I was running into an obstacle with my new schedule. Each and every day of online classes was spent staring at the same four walls of my room. I loved the peace and quiet that my room offered, but I could not stand how my room was now associated with the stress of school. I realized how much that was going to get under my skin.
Even with all the struggles and obstacles I and countless others conquered, the change allowed me to view life in a new perspective. Online classes and quarantine proved difficult to adapt to, yet a new kind of togetherness (whether through family time or even online classes) became prominent in their presence. Nothing, not even COVID-19, could ruin the unity of a family.
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