March 13, 2020

Two years ago this past Sunday was the strangest day that many of us have ever had or will have. For the previous couple of weeks, mysterious  virus had been brewing. Something on the news, but it was mainly centered in China. But the whispers got louder and louder until they were throwing around words like “unprecedented” and “pandemic” — words many of us had never expected to hear in our lifetime. 

But things came fast and two years ago this past Sunday, we got the dreaded email. For two weeks, we would go home and do school virtually, just to let things settle down. But the two weeks turned into the rest of the semester and the rest of that semester was one of the weirdest, most fun, most unprecedented time of our lives — probably like nothing we will ever have again. 

I remember getting gas on the way home from school (my dad has always said that some more gas never hurts) and I remember getting some cash (another thing my dad has always said is good in emergencies). I stopped at Target on the way home. I didn’t need anything, I just knew that it could be a long time before I would go to a Target again (Target is my comfort store, I’m sure you understand). 

Most of us spent our quarantine doing a lot of the same things. I will admit that I watched Tiger King. I will admit that I made whipped coffee. I will admit that my mom learned how to make bread (and she made a lot of it). I will admit that the highlight of my day was the family walk, that sometimes that was the only time I made it outside of the house. My family watched Survivor (we started on Season 1 and in real time, we are on Season 39, so I would say we are going pretty well). 

I also remember that it was a really difficult time. I was scared. None of us knew what was coming. The news was scary, the stock market was scary. Going to the grocery store felt like making “runs” in The Walking Dead. People made comparisons to the movie Contagion, a movie I couldn’t bring myself to watch (and honestly, I still can’t). We could at least talk to friends virtually (and visit each others’ islands on Animal Crossing), but it wasn’t the same. 

I remember being on a daily family walk when we got the email that we would not be returning for the semester. I was sad for the moment, but I was scared of what that would mean. Would we ever return to normal?

And now, a whole lot of science, three vaccine shots later, grit as people, and the test of time, we are returning to normal. Flipping through TikTok and I heard the sound “Supalonely”. Go ahead, look up the sound. The sound brought back good memories. Memories of spending time with my brother, spending time with my family. Laying on a blanket in my backyard in the middle of a weekday. Eating my moms homemade bread. How is it that a song like that could bring back such a bad time as good memories? 

All this is to say that lately I have been feeling nostalgic for the original quarantine. I’ve been feeling like I should have done more. I should have learned one more hobby. I should have mastered another skill. 

But at the same time, I can confidently say that each and every one of us did the best that we could. Two years later, I think we can say that we did it. We saw loss, we saw sacrifice, and we continue to deal with each of those. But we made it through stronger, as humans and as a York College Community.