Stepping Into Our New Reality

Coming back to school is something we have all been dreaming of since we got sent home over 18 months ago. The past year has been so weird, and there really isn’t anything that can prepare you for a return to in-person classes. As exciting as it has been, it has also been unbelievably overwhelming. 

We’ve basically lived in a state of emergency for nearly two years. That state of emergency did not go away when we stepped back onto our beloved campus. Socializing in groups big or small is a feat we all have had to conquer the past two months. It is almost as if we want to socialize so much due to lack of socialization that we risk burning ourselves out. We are trying so hard to make school feel like it did when we were here in 2020, but our new reality is that the world and school may never feel that way again. And we have to grow from this. 

As someone who suffers from anxiety and OCD, the pandemic has definitely exacerbated my fears when it comes to large groups. Thankfully, we have a mask and vaccine mandate here at school, which has really alleviated a great deal of that anxiety. Being back to school also comes with a routine. We spent so much of the last year trying to figure out what helps us be productive and balancing our free time and social time.

Despite all of the anxiety, feelings of being overwhelmed, and novelty of being back at school, there truly are some beautiful things about returning, like doing theatre in person again. As an actor, it has been extremely hard trying to figure out what acting with others means in a world of distance. Being back at school has allowed me to explore my craft again. The first time I stepped into a show this semester where my peers were performing, I began to cry. I cried for the love I have for theatre and the safe haven that my craft has given me through this reentry into the world. 

Being back at Arcadia also has allowed me to reunite with professors and people I have not seen in nearly two years. I am able to go to Easton Cafe and get my pink drink that I missed so much. I am able to sit on the green and work on monologues with my classmates. I can easily go down to my friend’s apartment if I want to hang out. I can experience Under Siege and Student Programming Board events again. I get to experience being a student again.

We get to experience our lives again. Despite being drastically different, we get to live and discover new things on our beautiful campus once more. None of us are the people we were when we left that March day. We have all grown so much and been through so much. We deserve to mourn the months we lost. We also deserve to allow ourselves to be full of joy being back at school.