Living through a pandemic is something I never thought I’d say I did. I am doing it and I can say that I am killing it.
I struggled. I struggled through different stages of it. The beginning really hit me. I knew I wouldn’t be okay in the sorority house alone with 2 or 3 other girls. I knew I would struggle mentally, so I came home to Montague with Lorie and Dad. I really appreciate them. They did not complain too much about having me home. They let me join in on walks, dealt with me bugging them by wanting to be included in their routines. This included cooking, walks, nightly Jeopardy! and Big Bang Theory. I cannot imagine how weird/annoying it was to have me home for 2.5 months when the longest I’ve stayed home in 3 years was 2ish weeks (usually while on vacation to Florida).
I finished classes strong, even though I despise online learning. I don’t absorb any information. Have you taken online math or a science lab? They are HARD. I was done and hopeful to get back to work. Knowing I might be able to start work was getting me through the period of being home.
So on May 4th I moved back to Allendale, into a townhouse with a girl I knew nothing about. I was nervous about moving into this townhouse, the person I was subleasing from made a huge deal about how mean this girl was, but I needed to be in Allendale in case work started (mostly my dad wanted me out of the house. We were together waaaay too long). I pulled up to the townhouse and my roommate was sitting outside. She introduced herself and her puppy and offered to help me move all my stuff. Then she picked up my intimates as they spilled all over the grass without even thinking twice about it. That is when I knew this girl was actually going to be nice.
Neither of us were working so we ended up spending a lot of time together. I am so lucky for that time. Britanea and I have a lot in common. Summer was a time of unknowns, unrest in cities for justice, and topics leading to the elections. Not only do Britanea and I feel the same about BLMs, LGBTQ+, Biden, and just kindness in general, but we have had similar experiences with friendships. We only lived together for 3 months, but Covid made it so her, Jacob, Wheezy and I spent a lot of time together. Moving out was hard for me. I didn’t want to leave a place I felt so comfortable. Britanea became my confidant and role model. Her heart is bigger than anyone’s I know. She cares for everyone, sticks up for what she believes in and is overall just a badass.
We were both at the stage of our lives where we don’t want to go out every night, or have to text every day to be friends with someone. So that is exactly how we do things. We support each other when we need it. I see her every so often usually just relaxing and chatting. We do not need to be in contact every hour to know we are friends. But I would drop everything to be their for her because she’s done that for me, even while I was in a different state.
Classes started and I was not looking forward to online learning. I constantly messaged one of my professors to see if he had an open seat in his in person section. Week 3 hit and he said I could come since there was always 6 empty seats. I was ecstatic! I went to class and it ended up being my favorite class I have taken thus far. I learned so much from his lectures about working with people and organizations. I loved the class and do not want it to end. All my other classes have just been decent because online is not my cup of tea. I am lucky enough to have Lorie at GV who knows people and so much information about the school. I was able to reach out to the wonderful Dr. G who is always willing to help with my schedule, but also be real with me. She is brutally honest, but a huge supporter of mine. Dr. G, Travis, and Lorie have been so helpful since transferring to GV, I could not have figured out my classes and kicked myself into gear without them.
September 1st I was finally able to go back to work. I was overjoyed to be back at the job I love. It was crazy busy for the first few weeks and I enjoyed every second. I was able to still do events with my bosses even though they were virtual. I was a main person on creating virtual Trivia with approximately 40 people attending. It went smoothly and everyone enjoyed it. I love it. I could talk about how much I love my job for hours, but now I get sad thinking I have to go into the real world and jobs won’t be this fantastic. I won’t have a great group of bosses or great co-workers. I won’t have co-workers that I can convince to watch Criminal Minds and Harry Potter so we can bond. I won’t have co-workers who are kind, and deal with training me for 3 weeks and never complain about sitting at the same computer for 8 hours straight. I won’t have a co-workers who end up being close friends and constantly check up on me. This summer I won’t have Kourteney around at work and even though that means more hours for me, it means less time seeing her or discussing our dislike of the evil scanner.
Then October hit and I was looking for a place to live, not wanting to be in Montague again. The commute was too long. Facebook is a fantastic place to find houses. I wanted to live downtown GR in a decently priced house. That is when I found 9 U. I fell in love with the house, and patiently (okay no patience at all) waited to hear back from a tenant. Then she asked if I wanted to visit the house. I went and loved the house, it was cute, small and only had 2 other tenants. They told me that they had talked to about 6 other people so I wasn’t sure I would get it. Two days later I did and the next day I was moved in!
I’ve been in the house for exactly a month as of today and I feel safe. I feel at home, I am thriving and enjoy being with my roommates. I have welcoming, kind hearted, clean, hard working young professional roommates who share insight into their professions when I ask. Somehow, I ended up with 2 people who studied/work in marketing and are kind enough to explain real world jobs. We stay up too late watching horror shows, reality TV, and walk to Martha’s and spend too much money on cheese and wine. I do not know how they feel, but I am looking forward to the next year creating a little home where we are.
Ohh I forgot to mention a HUGE change in my life. LORIE MARRIED MY DAD. I kept telling her that she didn’t have to and could still keep me, but she went through with the wedding and I am so happy. The wedding was beautiful. I am so honored (as well as Marie), to have her as a bonus mom, Cal as a bonus brother, and Jake as my bonus brother. Dad and Lorie moved to Spring Lake because Montague was too far from Cal and I(; Now I occasionally convince them to cook dinner for Cal and I, which means I get to see Cal more and we both get free dinners. I don’t know what could be better!
I also had the most fantastic birthday. I spent the night with hometown friends who live 3 mins away from my GR house. TALKED TO SISSY FOR OVER AN HOUR. Dad and Lorie hosted a cute family dinner that was fancy and fun. Not to mention I got knives, sheets, and curtesy of Cal a Target gift card!!!
Dad and Lorie asked for my Christmas list and it really only had 1 thing: go to Florida. Which was unrealistic as none of us were comfy staying in a hotel or a strangers place, but their fantastic cruise friends Gary and Kay, wedding gifted them a place in Anna Maria for break! Here we come warm weather and no worries! It is all Cal and I wanted and our Christmas miracle came true. Now Cal has to deal with constant updates from me of how many days away it is until we leave!
Overall I did it, I made it through and at some points I struggled, but my people supported me and pushed me to be better and stronger. If I can do it I know you can too. Remember it is okay to struggle or to not be okay. We are in a pandemic and it is hard for everyone. Do not be ashamed of needing to seek help or advice.
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