Self-Quarantine And Remote Learning Is An Isolating Experience

Frederic Aurelien/Contributing Writer

A week ago, I was in my dorm room complaining to my roommates about the number of assignments I had due by the end of the week.

Today, I’m in my parents’ house after evacuating campus to slow the spread of a pandemic that has effectively shut down most of the world. 

A week ago, I was in class joking with my fellow classmates about readings that we didn’t read and assignments we were still procrastinating on.

Today, I am attending virtual class sessions through an app. Most of the time, however, I’m less interested in what my professor has to say about next week’s quiz, as my mind is more drawn towards the constant phone notifications of media outlets that feed me numbers of soaring death tolls and plunging financial markets. 

Just a week ago, I was working on campus as a student assistant, and although I myself am lucky that my work has transitioned online, not many people are fortunate enough to say that they are still employed during these times. 

This is a shared experience. Thousands of FIU students have had to come face to face with the ravages of the coronavirus as many of them were displaced from their homes and thrown from their realities, reminded of the brittle fragility and volatility of their lives. 

As it turns out, FIU has a good amount of international students, more than 2,000 of which are undergrads that likely live on campus. A lot of these students have no choice but to stay on campus during this national emergency, along with others that cannot leave because of their own personal circumstances. 

The isolation of being in an empty university for the next few weeks is unimaginable, and with most restaurants shut down, there are only so many places they will be able to go for food (especially if they were relying on their meal plans to eat.)

Many of my own friends who had hopes of studying abroad before they graduated college have had to postpone and even cancel those plans as nations around the world closed off their borders to contain this virus.

Besides losing money for flights or hotels, many students that have been attending this school, paying for classes and involving themselves in campus life for the past four years won’t even get to experience a commencement ceremony to honor their accomplishments. 

Although we’ve all been laughing at the memes of students receiving online zoom diplomas or virtually walking the stage, this in itself has to be one of the most brutal things that the class of 2020 has to experience and cope with as a result of this virus. It’s an unfortunate situation that can’t be helped, but it could never be made up for either.

This pandemic has affected us in more ways than one. It has affected the way that we live and the way that we interact with one another. We are more connected and, at the same time, more disconnected than ever before. In a time where we do remote learning and remote work, it really feels like a remote world.

Many of us are self-quarantined from the outside world and have to consciously avoid contact with the family and friends that live in our own homes. This screams to something very integral to the culture of Miami: human to human contact. Common greetings like shaking hands, kissing on the cheek and physically embracing others have all ceased for the sake of protecting ourselves and the people around us. 

It’s quite cynical really, but the synergy of elbow bumps and head nods elucidate a comical aspect to it as well.

Although we laugh at the memes, we’re all wondering what these next couple of weeks will hold, whether our dreams and ambitions will continue to be put on hold in the midst of an uncertain future. Many of us have been lucky enough not to be infected or have family members infected with the coronavirus, but that does not take away from the negative impacts it has left within our communities and lives. The resilience and strength of our friends and fellow countrymen will be needed in these times. 

If we are to overcome this moment, we must overcome it together. We must help one another and continue to support each other not only as fellow FIU Panthers but as fellow human beings.

Featured image by Pascal Maramis on Flickr.

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The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.

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