Student —Inspired by “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid Caitlin Kerling Fall is approaching; make sure your classes are set up, figure out what classes are online, and which classes are held on campus; you don’t have much free weekends left, so enjoy seeing your friends while you can, but don’t have too much fun, you don’t want to get sick; make sure you don’t forget your mask; classes start next week, so make sure you have your notebooks ready; make sure you take your laptop in to get cleaned since you don’t want to deal with another semester with a slow computer; make sure your white shirts are cleaned and ironed for work this weekend and every weekend; when you’re getting ready for work, make sure your hair is off your face; make sure you put some makeup on, because after all, a cute boy might walk into the restaurant; don’t forget your mask! The gyms close early, so you can’t work out after your shift like you used to; make sure you find time in your busy schedule to go after class or on your days off from work, and don’t forget your mask; make sure you stay focused since classes are starting to give out homework assignments; don’t get mixed up with any boys, boys are nothing but trouble, and it’s not worth it; make sure you wake up early and get ready for virtual learning, take a lot of notes, be attentive, and don’t get distracted—but Hudson looks so cute while he’s playing a cat and mouse game with my pen—I’ll just look for a few minutes, what’s a few minutes going to do? I’ll make up the work later; don’t procrastinate, make sure you finish your homework on time, and if you don’t understand what the professor is teaching, watch a lot of YouTube videos, since after all, online chemistry is hard—I can’t be the only one confused with kinetics—maybe you should have kept up with your reading; make sure you stay home, you don’t want to get your parents sick, and we are approaching the orange zone; make sure you only go out for groceries, the bank, or a quick Target run; make sure you don’t forget your mask! Times are stressful, and staring at a screen all day can be strenuous, but stay focused; make sure to keep your immunity up; invest in elderberry supplements, cats claws, zinc, probiotics, and take a boat load of vitamin C; make sure to take them every day; make sure you cook more paleo dishes, and decrease your sugar intake; make sure you have a spare clean mask handy; no, don’t hang out with your friends or that boy, we are in the middle of a pandemic, and you have to study for chemistry; you don’t have time to do anything, your cats are your friends now, so make sure you clean their litter box; make sure you’re ready for more early morning virtual learning, and you didn’t just roll over from your bed—I feel like a fly trapped in between the four corners of a window and a screen, desperately wanting to experience the outside world again— just keep scrolling through social media, living vicariously through old memories to escape current monotonous moments, but don’t let that take up too much time for you have chemistry to work on; make sure you stay focused, the semester is almost over; make sure you get enough rest, don’t stay up too late again; make sure you have your classes set up for next semester, since you’ll be doing it all over again; but what if classes continue to remain online next semester; you mean to say after all you’re really going to be the kind of student to lose their focus?
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