By Cali Godwin
My quarantine has been somewhat of a rollercoaster. I’ve had my good days, but I’ve also had my bad and stressful days. Since I was able to leave the dorms, my fiancé met me in Denver to take me to him hometown of Cody, Wyoming. Being in Cody was tough at first. I’m from a huge family, so I somewhat missed the hustle and bustle and excitement and being around kids. In Cody, it was just me, Cameron and his mom. So, it was definitely a lot quieter than what I am used to. However, I adjusted well, and grew to love my new mountain-side life. We have gone on hikes and bike rides almost every day. I learned that I actually love to cook and discover new recipes. I also became a dog mom to the best boy in the world.
While I was living a practically new life from my one in Kansas, school started back up and I didn’t realize how hard it would be. I was now trying to balance working from home for a job I had just started in McPherson and trying to do schoolwork as well. It was hard for me to find that motivation to keep doing everything. I struggled trying to understand a few of classes after being switched to online only. But I figured it out and found a great system for myself to make sure I get things done on time.
My biggest hardship has definitely been trying to get over the fact that I won’t have a lot of my lasts, or even firsts. I won’t get to experience my last car show, where my friends worked hard to make happen. I won’t get to experience my last campus blowout, where I LOVED picking out my costume and just bouncing around with my friends. I also won’t get to experience my first Senior Drive Through, where I get acknowledged with my friends. And the one that hurts the worst, I won’t get to experience my first college graduation ceremony in person. As someone who is the first person to graduate in their family, I was really looking forward to seeing the pride in my parents’ and family’s eyes as they see me walk across the stage in May. I was excited for all my younger siblings to see all that I accomplished, and hopefully try to follow my steps. Graduation will definitely be the biggest pill to swallow for me. This virus took that away from me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever not be a little upset about it.
