Drinking some tea on our extra desk turned tea station turned chair.

It’s the start of my third year at Bryn Mawr. I am thinking about some typical junior year things (what classes should I take to prep for my thesis? where do I want to intern next summer? are upperclassman schedules always this nice?) but I am also thinking about a million other things. As much as I believe Bryn Mawr has done a better job thinking about bringing us back to campus than other colleges, I am still incredibly worried for mine and my peers’ safety. As a member of the SGA EBoard, I have taken on a great amount of responsibility to hold both admin and my peers accountable so we can all remain safe. I should only be worrying about courses, internships, if I brought enough layers, my May Day outfit (no it is not too early), and when the orange poppy loaf will be available for breakfast. Instead, due to our government’s inability to govern, we are still in a nasty pandemic and Black communities around the country are still protesting and organizing for basic justice. We are all being forced to adapt, even though we should not bear this weight.

This semester, I have quite a few commitments. Outside of my full courseload, I am continuing my NSC internship from the summer every other Friday, participating in the Tri-Co Philly Program, serving as SGA Co-Treasurer, working for College communications, and continuing with crew. I like to be busy, but it is still a lot to do. Needless to say, my time management needs to be outstanding this semester.

I have set app timers on my phone to limit my time on social media and will be keeping my desk spotless so I can always sit down to work without distractions (speaking this one into existence, I have always had an issue with clutter). Each weekend when I start my schoolwork for the coming week, I check Moodle and my syllabi for what needs to be done when. Then, I write it all out in my notebook and cross each assignment off as I complete them throughout the week. It helps to make sure I don’t miss anything and is of course much easier than checking every syllabus each time I go to do work. It’s also much easier for my brain to understand than a usual planner or calendar is – I like to have all of the information centralized onto a couple lines. My whole days are kept track of on my Google calendar with reminders set so I always know when something is coming. I also keep sticky notes above my desk with all of my class and meeting times as well as professors’ office hours. This way, it is always right in front of me, I don’t have to pick up my phone or open a new tab to look at my calendar. This summer, I also fully thought through my schedule and how I can schedule my whole days out to include workouts and meals around my classes, meetings, and practice. While it is important for me to have structure, I am also going to keep in mind that I do not always have to follow this schedule 100%. It may become too much for me at times to follow something so strict, and that’s okay, as long as I don’t make a habit of switching things up and let it get out of hand. So far, I feel okay about my ability to manage my time and work, but we are only going into the third week and I know that once the semester starts to pick up, I will feel overwhelmed. It is important to get into this routine now so I don’t feel like I’m drowning in a month.

I used Canva to create a schedule to post in mine and my roommate’s shared room.

My desk setup for this year ready for class (you may have seen this on the BMC Instagram as well!)

The mixed teaching format has also been weird. Two of my classes are fully remote, one is hybrid so we have the option to attend in person or via Zoom, and the fourth is fully in person but we can attend on zoom if needed. I have definitely grown used to Zoom classes, but they still are not ideal. They are especially difficult with a roommate and classes happening outside on Rhoads Beach. But of course, we are adjusting. My roommate and I printed out our schedules and put them up in our shared middle room so we know when the other is busy. While I cannot get rid of classes outside my room, my professors have been understanding that we may not always be in a quiet environment, and some of them even prefer students keep our mics off so there is some background noise on the call. And now, going to in person classes feels plenty strange as well. It is great to be in a classroom again, wearing a mask is no problem, and being spread out is even pretty nice at times. But being back in a physical classroom is not enough of normalcy when you can’t drink water and you are wiping your desk down before leaving.

I am worried that for the rest of time at Bryn Mawr I may not have a similar experience to my first two years. We all miss spontaneous Saturdays off campus, walking around Carpenter for five minutes until you find an open seat, and late nights in the Campus Center when the whole place is buzzing. Despite the pandemic, being here even with restrictions is better than not being here. I am still grateful to be here, in many ways Bryn Mawr is still Bryn Mawr. There are geese and loud planes flying overhead, Dining Services has new things to offer us like they do each year, and we are back on campus.

The sunset over Rhoads Beach, right outside my room in Rhoads South.

Bryn Mawr is home for all of us. Admin, faculty, staff, and students all need to work carefully to keep us safe. It will not be very easy, but it will be better than getting each other sick and having to shut down as so many other schools have been forced to do. And to be quarantined at Bryn Mawr as fall settles in and we can see our friends, is worth some masks and six feet.