FLORIDA ISN’T FOR VACATIONS
My COVID-19 Experience
by Amanda Willis
We are respectful of the rules, we do everything we can to have a green badge and we’ve been learning from Fuck it Won’t Cut it, but there are some things still out of our control. I moved back to campus in 2019 after taking a mental health leave of absence, and I was afraid—but extremely excited—to be living in Boston again. I used my COVID-19 test requirements to get out of the apartment, get tested, head to Mugar and try to feel normal again … but normal only lasts so long during a pandemic.
A flight confirmation email appeared on my laptop, and I knew what was happening. My eyes glazed over thinking about why the trajectory of my life had to change within such a short period of time. My face went pale, and my girlfriend quickly shut my laptop, as tears started running down my face.
My housing situation got rocky, and then just collapsed. All the stress was heightened by the effects COVID-19 had on everyone’s stress levels. My family felt that given my medical problems during my time in Boston, I was not healthy enough to care of myself 1,500 miles from their immediate care. This, plus a housing situation, were not sustainable for my parents, roommates or myself. I couldn't control my health, so the decision was made for me. Our bodies react without us doing anything to make them do so.
Sinking into my girlfriend’s couch, I tried to tell her that my dad’s flight was in less than twelve hours. I would be out of Boston within the week, and neither of us knew I would be leaving again so soon. The state of chaos that COVID-19 has brought to everyone’s lives has made us accept harsh realities.
Being back in Florida has been lonely, to say the least. Surprisingly, I prefer Zoom over Facetime, even for personal calls, even though Zoom University has given me hell. I don’t understand why I had to come home, but I pass my days trying to find a way to return in the spring. I regret the rigor of Boston University’s acclaim, but I miss the things that made it home. It is scary to feel like you are regressing into your high school self because you are living at home again and are expected to be in the workforce within eight months.
If you have made it this far into my rant, the dorms may suck, but you are gaining life experience there. You are engulfed in a BU community that holds you accountable for the things you went there to do in the first place. Take advantage of every day you get to swab your nose at 808/Agganis, read the graffiti in the Mugar cubbies and get the most out of your tuition.