By: Austin Grimm
Trapped, confined, quarantined, socially removed. Words that describe the current setting that I have been subjected to for the past several weeks. Living in isolation has been, quite frankly, boring. My days of the week have turned from Saturday, Sunday, Monday, etc. to yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I no longer feel that I am taking courses or that I am even in school. The sheer act of having to call in through Zoom to only a few classes or watch some video with terrible quality is not the pinnacle of my education. Everything just feels completely different.
Stress from family, the virus, dissolving relationships, and professors giving all their midterms now has led to probably one of the most stressful times of my life. It feels as if the entire world is collapsing around me and I just get to watch it happen. The pressure from every source was weighing on me with great force. At the university, I felt in control of my life and that I could do what I love to do; however, after coming back home, things that I loved to do just became added stress.
Although stress started to consume me, I found some light. Making music still provided me joy. Video games acted as a release from reality. I even, during this time of crisis, donated blood in hopes of maybe saving a life. These things provided me hope in times of depression.
I could say that everything is fine and that I’m doing well. I would be lying to myself though. I’m hopeful for the future because the future can bring me out of the now. I wish for the future where I can go out to restaurants with my family and we can have a good time. I wish for the moment in which I can be in the same room as my classmates and speak from my mouth, not type through the computer. I wish for the day that I can be free from this quarantine.
English 110 Honors Spring 2020 
The first sentence was captivating and I immediately wanted to read on. I relate to your blog post because early on boredom filled my days and I could not even tell what day it was.
It was inspiring to read knowing that you were writing the truth about how you are feeling. Having to zoom for classes now and seeing professors cut out material that normally they would have taught is pretty upsetting. It is awesome that you donated blood and I am glad you found joy in other activities. Try to focus on what brings you joy because we have very little control over the sadness. The ending sentence was strong and emotional, and overall the post was a pleasure to read. I hope all is well for you and your family.
-Kyle Regan
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Austin,
Beginning your post with words that have an emotional connection to your current situation was really effective as a hook. I can relate to every single one of those feelings, especially about not feeling like being at school anymore. I think everyone can relate to wanting this to be over and hopeful for the future, and I think we can all agree that when this all ends we will be much more grateful for certain experiences in our life. I think it is great you donated blood as well, as now more than ever it is needed in this time of crisis. Let’s hope we all get through this and continue staying healthy. This was a very strong post.
-Adam Bonar
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I found the ideas and feelings in your piece very relatable. The idea that you could say you are “fine”, but you aren’t is the way I would describe it as well. This situation has been similarly boring for me, and not being at UD makes it seem like I have lost the control and organization within my college life. It is hard to “do college” solely through online classes (I say as I just finished my online biology lab…). I am glad you found things like making music and video games to keep you occupied because, in my opinion, hobbies are the things that will keep us sane in these times. I also find it extremely commendable of you to donate blood. As you can imagine, most people in the country are currently afraid to leave their house, let alone enter a healthcare building to donate their blood. You are most definitely saving a live by doing so, and you should feel very proud.
– Bray Fedele
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