The year 2020 looks cool in itself and was supposed to be an exciting year, but it turned out extremely unexpected. This year was supposed to be my high school graduation and my first semester of college. It started out really exciting as the 2nd semester of senior year was beginning with all the senior activities, finally a breather from the last few years of high school. Then, the pandemic hit. At first, there was hope that it would only last for a short period of time. Then they extended quarantine, more and more, and hope slowly drifted away, where we ended up with a drive-through diploma pickup for a graduation. This was very disappointing, but there was still the hope that things would be better in the summer and fall. Virus cases did not go down over the summer, which I spent preparing for college through online orientations, while never having even seen the campus. There was still the hope that college would be in-person and that I would be able to leave my room and meet new people, but in August, it was announced that most classes would be online. I was then faced with the decision of whether I should dorm on campus, but since almost everything was online, it was decided that it was not worth the money to spend my time stuck in my dorm, with the chance that UMD would send us back home because of increasing virus cases. I was much less hopeful about college now, and worried about the online format, as I did not find it helpful in high school. I started the first week of college and was instantly overwhelmed. The online format was confusing because different professors put assignments in different spots online, where some were in Modules, Assignments, or Announcements. It was extremely hard to keep track of everything. I eventually figured out where certain professors tended to place things, but there was still that fear that I was missing something. Then exams started. While I felt that I was doing fine content-wise, the fact that each class had exams on different computer programs, with different styles, was just another thing that seemed like an unnecessary stress. This combined with sitting on the computer all day with almost no social contact has made this first semester extremely discouraging and confusing, and I feel I would have not felt this way had we been in-person. I am undecided about my major and I took classes this semester to try to explore my interests and see what I like, but it is difficult to enjoy these classes when it feels like I just have to get one assignment done and move on to the next, being stuck on my computer all day. Some professors have been understanding of the situation and have helped us by adapting the style of the class to make it less stressful, which I really appreciate, but some do not seem to care and continue to put extreme workloads on us. I appreciate the Scholars class because it has been very understanding and has tried to give us some sort of college experience by allowing us to meet people, which helps me feel a bit less disconnected from everything. Generally, I have been trying to cope by working outside, walking around my neighborhood with my brother, and occasionally going with my family somewhere, like apple-picking, or on a trip to Harper’s Ferry. Through this time I have also experienced my 18th birthday at home with my family. While I appreciate being able to spend time with my family, it would be nice to have contact with other people over such a long period of time. Maybe I will be able to go on campus next semester and connect with people more, but I do not know what to expect with this virus.