THE SUFFERING AMBASSADOR FROM KNOXVILLE

Dear Diary,

You know who I am. I’m the guy who was everywhere on campus. I’m the guy who LITERALLY spoke with over 4,000 students in span of five months, listening to all their stories. I attended nearly all of the campus events and made a jacket full of buttons. I became acquainted with all of the cliques and clubs. I ate lunch with someone I hadn’t met everyday. And if all that doesn’t impress you, I even walked every inch of campus, from the PSB to the UP building and from the MEC to Greek Row. Long story short, I loved immersing myself into my college community. It made me feel great about myself and helped me speed up my learning curve when studying psychology. Then COVID started to get really bad in February; and the next thing I know, everyone is being told to go home, stay inside mid-spring in March. I suffered for the first two weeks. Not being able to talk with and BE WITH people hurt emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. So by the third week, I accepted my new reality and chose to make myself believe that I was ok with it. After a week, I did. I was fine not being social. To pass the time I played video games and polished off my Must Watch list. By the end of May, I was bored, sad, and lazy. But then something great happened!!!!! Some people I had met from campus started to dm me, asking me to help motivate them since their last memory of me was when I was charismatic, energetic, magnetic, and far from pathetic. So I fixed my attitude and remembered my future goals because that feeling of being needed again was empowering. I completed my summer courses with A’s, revised my resume, started applying for scholarships, intern/work programs, calling/facetiming friends, and so much more! I’m on top of things now!!!! I’m on a roll and I ain’t gonna stop!!!!! But believe this—this pandemic is far from over and the demands of carefulness are going to be a part of our daily lives for a while.