I was extremely disappointed when I found out that I would have to take a class over winter session to catch up on math for the following year. Practically none of my friends were taking one and I had been looking forward to an extra month of no work and time to visit my friends from home at their colleges. I had no idea what an impact those five weeks would have.
Over the first few days, I met and talked to so many new people that I had only passed on my way in and out of Redding. After a few weeks, I had no idea how I had gone an entire semester without being friends with these people. When I think back to how upset I was saying goodbye to my friends from home in January a month earlier than I thought I would, I wish I would have known how thankful I would end up being that I had to take that class. If winter session taught me anything, it is that I shouldn’t get upset over things prematurely because something good just might end up coming out of it.
With that said, I was in a very good place in the middle of March. I had finally gotten used to my new classes and workload, and I had a whole semester ahead of me with my friends. I never expected for us to be sent home and I was devastated when I heard that we weren’t coming back for the rest of the semester. We all had to learn how to adapt.
These past two months have been hard, there’s no denying it. None of us expected for our semester to go this way. I know that we all would rather be together in Delaware right now, but I have learned that we are not as far apart as it seems. In the past two months, so much of my time has been spent on Zoom or FaceTime with my friends, whether it’s doing work or distracting ourselves from the work that we should be doing. Of all of the things that I have worried about since March, my relationship with my friends has not been one of those things. I have learned that if people really care about you, they will go out of their way to maintain and strengthen your relationship, no matter the scenario.
This is what I have learned the most this semester and in college in general; people are what is important in life. Right now, I miss my friends and the family who I have not seen in two months more than anything else in the world. While there are a lot of “things” that I miss, they seem trivial compared to how much I miss people. I have truly learned to appreciate my relationship with my friends and family, and I am forever thankful for all of the people that I have met in these past nine months.
English 110 Honors Spring 2020 
I really like how you highlight the fact that it is the connections that we have with people that make life better. I very much related to your sentence “While there are a lot of “things” that I miss, they seem trivial compared to how much I miss people.” When I think about all of the things I wish I could be doing, everything comes back to people. Whether that just be sharing a laugh or eating a meal together. I also really like how you pointed out that “if people really care about you, they will go out of their way to maintain and strengthen your relationship, no matter the scenario.” I’ve also learned a lot about my friendships and relationships with other people. At times it can be hard to stay connected, but I think the circumstances are making our bonds even stronger because of all the time we have to spend apart. I hope everyone gets to reunite sometime soon! Great work and hope you have a great end of the semester!
Cally
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Katie, I really enjoyed reading your post, as I think the lesson you learned about valuing your relationships with friends and family is an important one that many people have learned over the past few months. Personally, as a result of this pandemic, I have realized who my closest friends are. They are the ones who make an effort to have Facetime calls so we can catch up, even though we all still have busy schedules. They are the ones who reach out to plan a Zoom game night. They are the ones who, like you beautifully stated, ” will go out of their way to maintain and strengthen your relationship, no matter the scenario.”
Knowing that you formed some of these relationships in college is heartwarming, and I hope that you all will be reunited in the fall so that you can sit and distract each other from doing your work in person, instead of over Zoom or FaceTime!
On another note, I love the picture you used on this post. You all look genuinely happy, which made me happy. Best of luck with the rest of the semester and with finals!
-Renea
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Your post was extremely powerful from the start but it kept getting better the more I read. The line, “people are what is important in life” is such a strong line and makes the reader think. I thought about all the things I miss after being in quarantine for months and people truly are at the top of the list. I liked how you said other things are trivial when compared to other humans because it shows how important your friends and family are to you. I also liked,”I have learned that if people really care about you, they will go out of their way to maintain and strengthen your relationship, no matter the scenario.”, because it is very accurate. If people really care about you then they will find the time to reach out and would want to talk to you. We are lucky we have apps like zoom and facetime because they allowed us to stay in contact with those close to us and made it feel as if we were not that far from each other. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your post and people are truly what is important in life.
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Katie, your post was such a joy to read. I love how you focused on the lessons that you learned, especially the one that taught you to not get prematurely upset over something. I can really relate to that lesson as so many of my life experiences so far have taught me this exact notion. UD wasn’t my top choice school at first, but I’ve learned that I wouldn’t have nearly been as happy if I went to the other schools I got accepted to and UD has brought me so much that I wouldn’t be able to experience anywhere else. This is a really powerful lesson that everyone should not only know about, but experience first hand. Our lives ahead of us will be filled with decisions and actions that we might not necessarily want or agree with at first. However, there is always a silver lining, and I think it is beautiful that you touched on that idea in your post. I also really enjoyed reading about the importance of friendship. I’m so glad that you’re able to keep in touch with your friends and that you have discovered this time to be an opportunity to get even closer and support one another. I’ve found myself randomly texting my closest friends “How are you?” and asking them how they spent their day. It may seem like a little thing, but my friends and I had never done something like this before, and we’ve found it to be really uplifting and supportive, especially in a time like this. I hope that we are all able to take our appreciation of friendship into our lives after the pandemic ends, as it will only make things better. Great post!
– Selma Cemerlic
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