A Light Shining In Darkness

 

    By: Rafael Besa    

 Another Semester, another quarter of online classes. By now, many of us are familiar with the various synchronous and asynchronous classes required of our academic responsibilities. Some have developed ways to cope; learning new skills to better cope with the workflow or at least gain enough of a distraction to maintain some mental stability. I’ve been at home since the declaration of class suspension and I thought the quarantine would only last a few months, at most until before the following school year. Whatever the case, I believed the various profs would swamp us with an overwhelming workload to make up for the lost classes of the previous year and none would be as prepared as needed to fulfill them. To pass the time and in the absence of clear assignments, I learned how to bake and read all the novels I’ve been putting off for reasons of academics.

However, not many have been fortunate enough to find a distraction or stave off the feeling of extended idleness that was unexpected of a college student. Those who’ve been unable to do so find the endless monotony and isolation is as torturous and sobering as it had been since March 2020.One thing is for sure, however: for many, the quarantine has taken a possibly immeasurable toll. The typical measures of social isolation and rest have now become necessities, whether it be to better cope with the day to day mental exertions or purely out of reasons of safety; to not be another number in the list of confirmed cases each day.

The first module of Philosophy came to me as just another academic requirement to be fulfilled; another source of readings and papers to churn out with the same monotony and efficiency as I had in the past five months. Besides the usual concerns of grade consistency and academic quality control, I came with no expectations whether it be true interest in the subject or a personal connection with any of the various topics to be discussed.

With this in mind, the first reading by Megan Craig really captured this rinse-and-repeat tedium of quarantine life that has characterized the school year 2020-2021. From the distractions of music and the repeated familial conversations that barely fulfilled personal needs of social interaction, Craig really captured the excruciating stretch of unoccupied time that perfectly encapsulates the indefinite waiting and creeping anxiety of la durée. The first module alone was a promising, if somewhat downcast start for the Philosophy course and it critically translates the inherent disconnection that I and many I've known have experienced since the start of a pandemic that is now reaching a bitter one year anniversary.

But this reading does present a silver lining, even if it isn’t an overt one. By effectively putting our ideas, opinions and unconscious revelations into textual form, it sheds a light on our personal reflections and presents an ideal way forward. Personally, it is somewhat comforting that others can put to words the helplessness and emptiness of quarantine and in a sense, serves as a little inspiration to push on despite the hardship. I’m gifted with more than the necessary tools to complete my responsibilities in an environment I find more academically conducive than on campus, especially when compared to the daily commutes by train and jeep that I had to take just to show up for classes

I've heard stories of many others who've not only survived but thrived during the quarantine period, with far less luxuries and creature comforts than I have. So who am I to do less? 

 

Image Source: https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2020/april-2020/04062020-obasi-stress-quarantine-tips.php