Pandemic Reflections: Looking Back on Everything

Glenn Carstens Peters/Unsplash

Gabriela Enamorado/Opinion Director

Being back at FIU after a year and a half of this pandemic is odd. I’ve gone through several transitions since I last was on campus taking an in-person class. I went from a staff writer to the opinion director of PantherNow while being at Zoom University. I discovered new passions and picked up new hobbies. Looking back on the pandemic, a lot has happened. Now, I’m wondering how I’m going to adjust to life post-lockdown. 

Going back to campus for classes for the first time has been really interesting. I haven’t socialized this much with people in a really long time. Luckily, I had a job all throughout the pandemic. Most of my socializing were done through my coworkers who were all relatively the same age as me. I would see some friends here and there but overall it was a really lonely experience. 

Being on campus and seeing all these people I haven’t seen in over a year is exciting for me. Especially those who are also journalism majors like me. I wasn’t able to network or just generally talk to people with similar interests to me. Now that I’m back on campus I am able to talk to like-minded people with interests in reporting like me. 

Another thing that will be different is writing for the paper. Being a part of PantherNow is something that has been important to me since before the pandemic. Being Opinion Director is a huge honor, something I don’t think I deserve at times. I’m honestly nervous about how I am going to handle responsibility now that we’re back in person. 

The entire time that I’ve been Opinion Director it has been virtual. It was all remote and I barely knew my own team since I never met most of them in person. It’s going to be super interesting to adjust to being an in-person leader. It’s actually a huge challenge for me because I am a very shy and anxious person. Being Opinion Director so far has helped me go outside of my box, so I expect that will remain the case in person. I want to be able to challenge my anxiety and challenge myself some more,  

Doing everything remote wasn’t always easy but it definitely kept me in a bubble. I’m ready to pop that bubble and get ready to experience new things.

The pandemic offered me a lot of insight into myself. As more of us get vaccinated and things hopefully begin to look brighter, I now know myself a little better than I did pre-pandemic.

Overall, I am excited to see what being back at school in person will be like. I want to be able to be way more involved in school and finally have the college experience I was supposed to have. I couldn’t be more excited to move forward. 

DISCLAIMER:

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

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

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