Keara Mollenauer is a freshman from Hopewell Township.
Keara Mollenauer
Freshman, Business
Hopewell Township, PA
Posted May 11, 2020
I’ve gotten the hang of my online classes now that it has been a month since the quarantine has happened. I’ve been doing very well in all my classes, and I have submitted all assignments on time and they have been well thought out.
I have come to realize that I get distracted very easily when I am at home. I am unregretful that I lived in the dorms for my first year. I did very well doing my studies and assignments in one sitting because I was more focused at school and I had to only worry about myself.
Now that I’m home, I have to cook, clean, take care of the pets, deal with my siblings, and chores. In all honesty, I did not miss this part of being home from college. These are my main distractions that cause me to have to work much harder to get my schoolwork done.
On campus, when I deal with all of my feelings and frustrations, and I would take it all out at softball practice. Now that I am home, I can’t run to softball anymore, so I bought a whiffle bat and ball and I take out all my frustrations in my backyard. It’s not the same, but it helps a lot because I’ve gotten out of shape since the campus closed. There’s nothing pushing me to get up off the couch.
I’m not the kind of person that likes to sit around all day. I like to get outside, go for a run, go and play, but I can’t do that with the cold weather and the ongoing pull towards the couch and computer. I’m a very motivated person that likes to get things done and when I can’t, I get discouraged and sit around like I am chained down.
I wish that this quarantine would be over, and I can get back to my extrovert self again.
Posted April 23, 2020
This is my first ever-experience doing online classes. I never thought that I would be spending half of my second semester being strictly online.
The first week of online classes, I was nervous how my classes were going to continue with the same criteria as being in the classroom. Since then I’ve seen how flexible it is. I have time to get assignments done more easily and quickly now that I am stuck at home. It is convenient to do my classes without having to wake up a lot earlier and walk all the way to class.
Now when I have an 8 a.m. class, I can wake up 10 minutes before my Zoom class starts and not have to leave my bed. I’ve also been spending more time with my sister now that both of us are back from college. We’ve been watching a lot of Netflix.
On the other hand, I miss seeing my classmates and my close friends on campus. I miss softball and going to dinner with all of my friends after classes. Looking on the positive side, while we are quarantined for now, all of my dear friends will be back together again next semester, and I can’t wait to be back to campus again.
It has been different these last few weeks since I’ve been back home. I was so into the swing of things at college. I was eating great food, having the walking distance to the gym, having softball practice, and sleeping in my twin bed in the dorms. It all felt so different, like I left the old me and became a better person being independent on campus.
Now, I’ve fallen back into the rut again of my old self. I’m not saying the old me was bad, but definitely different. I am trying to get motivated and give myself confidence to do well in the couple of weeks we have left of school. I am moving forward and working with what I have to in order to succeed in my first year of college.