On The Bright Side: Positive Thoughts During Challenging Times · Carleton Students From Afar

Family

For many students, extra time with and appreciation for their families was a positive of this pandemic.

Clarissa Guzman '22 (she/her/hers) was thankful for the family time she wouldn't have otherwise gotten.

"One of the pictures is of my family, right before we were about to eat homemade curry, rice, and naan. Since we've been on lockdown, my family has been able to spend a little more time together, eat meals together, and try out new recipes".

-Clarissa Guzman '22

Josh Isaacs '22 (he/him/his) was glad for the time to spend with his family as an adult.

Joey Silknitter '22 (he/him/his) appreciated the extra time with his siblings as one of the sacrifices of going to school farther away from home has been not getting to see them grow up to the extent that he would like.

"Once when I called my sister, who is two years younger than me, I almost burst into tears when my sister was the one begging me not to end the call after an hour into it. She used to be more unwilling to communicate, and I was already accustomed to begging her not to end video calls before the pandemic. Now she could understand my loneliness and fear, or she also misses me more than before. This reminds me of how much I love her, how much I miss her, and how much I need the support of family when facing all the uncontrollable things alone and far away from home".

-Shaw Quin '22 (she/her/hers)

"FaceTiming with my sister and finding out I had jury duty two months ago".

-Andrew Farias '21 (he/him/his)

Little Joys

Despite less than ideal circumstances, students still managed to find small things that brought them happiness.

Nicolas Bell '23 (he/him/his) was excited to get to see his puppy grow up in person.

Jeremiah Mackin-Alonzi '22 (he/him/his) talks about a Birthday celebration they had for a friend of his over zoom.

"Empty bowls without my best friend, so I drew her in".

-Andrew Farias '21 (he/him/his)

"This picture is of my childhood friend and I going on a walk and staying 6 feet apart from each other :( it's really hard to not get to hug her".

-Gray Harrison '22 (she/her/hers)

"[These are] all the letters I have received while in quarantine. It is so nice to have that connection with people, and although I cannot see them or talk to them in person, receiving letters from friends is a little bit of joy in my day, and makes me feel that they are still with me somehow".

-Gray Harrison '22

Darius Goodman '23 (he/him/his) was thankful for his longboard giving him some sense of freedom.

"Socially distanced Thai food car circle party with some friends".

-Yuki Nagaoka '22 (she/her/hers)

Aubrey Thurman '22 (she/her/hers) was thankful for less work at her job due to not being on campus.

Other Positives... or Lack Thereof

From humorous to profound, students had a lot to say about positives during this trying time.

Darius Goodman '23 (he/him/his) was glad for less recreational mouth use.

Jordan Navarro '22 (he/him/his) couldn't think of anything positive to come out of this experience.

Palina Buchanan '22 (she/her/hers) believes this pandemic has exposed many of the broken systems in this country and hopes this inspires change.

Tyrell Floyd '21 (he/him/his) was thankful for the refund he got from Carleton due to the move online.

Reflection

Many students expressed being thankful for the extra time and space for reflection this remote term gave them.

Anastasia Romanova '22 (she/her/hers) talks about learning to be alone.

Bryn Battani '22 (she/her/hers) discusses how much more she values in person connections now as well as the unexpected ways this experience has helped her to bond with people.

Indigo Bistrup-Peterson '23 (she/her/hers) realized through this experience that she actually isn't as introverted as she thought.

Gray Harrison '21 (she/her/hers) valued the extra time the remote term gave her allowing her freedom for creativity and talks about how people being forced to stay at home has led to reflection as well as been good for the environment.

I feel that the best thing is that we don’t have to worry about the GPA which usually stressed me out. So I usually spend those times being stressed and anxious about the exam tomorrow and I don’t really have time to think about my... it’s kind of stupid to say this, but my future.

-Alison Hong '22 (she/her/hers)

Isla Skinner '22 (she/her/hers) talks about how the lack of motivation has actually been beneficial to her.

Katie Taylor '22 (she/her/hers) felt that the pass/fail system helped her to reorganize her prioritize.