Inluxay, Lana, Letter to the Editor: The New Normal

Letter to the Editor: The New Normal

Lana Inluxay

The global pandemic, COVID-19, has taken a turn for the worst. This caused the world toshut down,thus forcing all students to turn to online learning. Students are getting laptops and textbooks to take home to ensure they have all they need to complete assignments. Schools are now completely remote for the 2020-2021 school year. Most students are starting to feel the weight of online learning. The students and teachers all around the world cannot keep up with the fast pace of the world. The public school system was not designed to be taught through a computer screen. As a college student majoring in the medical field, I feel now more than ever a hankering for the classroom. I cannot speak for all students, but for myself the four walls of a poorly lit classroom are where I want to be the most. While in the comfort of my own home, I struggle to keep my attention on the lectures. I am not moving from my computer for hours, continuously staring at the screen. Online learning has disrupted not only my physical health but also my mental health. While my family and friends are all enjoying the Christmas spirit, I have forgotten what it looks like outside. I feel as if I am drowning with nobody there to help pull me out. While nobody wanted nor asked for this, this is now the new normal.

Solicit

—Inspired by the news headline, "BTS' 'Fix You' Cover Will Make You Love BTS, Coldplay, and Life Itself, " Rolling Stone,24 Feb2021 Fawziyah Khan

We listen to your voices, your beautiful souls, and in this darkness are lifted and embraced.

We’ll hold you close so don’t you let us go. For you are the Solace in the darkness of our night.

I yearn to give to you what you have graced us, but as everything else with you, that becomes okay too, as I know you feel the way we do with just a mere thought our way.