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Today was the first day of my senior year at #UNL. I have a lot on my mind, here’s how I felt about the day
I felt thankful. Attending a university during a pandemic is stressful for everyone involved. Between the technical adaptations, increased sanitization, and building modifications it was clear that months of planning have gone into this. All so I can continue my education!
We must hold our institutions accountable for COVID testing and reporting - there’s work to be done for sure. At the same time, it’s humbling to see how hard faculty/admin/staff worked to create a positive learning environment. These messages in particular eased my nerves.
I also felt incredibly frustrated today. There’s more news by the hour about Covid clusters developing as a result of parties and bar crawls over the weekend. This elaborate plan that has been developed to allow me to attend class in person is at the mercy of other students.
I felt hopeless. I cannot control the behavior of my peers but their actions still maintain total control over my reality. I’ve put it all on the line for this education and it seems like very few people care about that.
Going to college has been a huge gamble for me. I don’t have the financial parachute available to me that many of my friends have (especially those who are in Greek life). There’s a $50k ball and chain hooked around my ankle if I fail at this.
I’m currently taking a full class load while working three jobs to make this semester work. Part of my student loan package was canceled by my federal loan lender due to a poor credit score. They literally told me I’m too much of a risk to finish my degree.
That leaves me with $1,168 to pay out of pocket or risk being forced to unenroll. I attend an in-state public university, live in off-campus housing that costs $360/month, and minimize my meal costs by cultivating a garden and cooking on my own as much as possible.
This thread isn’t seeking sympathy, I recognize that I’m extremely privileged to have even made it this far. It’s a reality check. Attending university is a huge deal for so many of us. There is no plan B and there’s nothing I can do to make sure this isn’t taken from me.
Please stop and think about how your actions are affecting those around you. This is so much bigger than any of us.
