A reflection

This semester has been all but normal, if I can even trust us all to remember what normal was. My Covid test did come back negative, thankfully. Several weeks later, one of my suitemates had to quarantine due to close contact with someone who did test positive. The three of us that were left bonded quite a bit over that time, and I am very thankful for their friendship. 

Now I am finishing up the semester from my room here at school, in a state of semi-quarantine. We are allowed to leave our rooms for meals, and occasional trips to the library, but other than that we are stuck with our roommates. I actually haven't minded at all, except that some friends left right away, and some more recently. The campus is a sort of ghost town again. 

However, there are many bright sides. The walks I've taken this semester have been beyond expression. Maybe that's exaggerating, maybe not. Ang (roommate) and Hayley (suitemate) and I spent several hours in the bluffs together, hiking, sitting and admiring nature, talking, and journaling. 

Classes have been demanding on all of us. There were tears. There were little fights and temper tantrums. There were days of procrastination, and days of celebration. I can't wait for next semester.

Sticky notes are also a plus from this semester. We have over 150 between our two rooms, with motivational quotes, goofy sayings, Scripture verses, or some note of equal cheer on them. The rule is to hide them for someone else to find randomly. One favorite from my roommate says "Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you." I really do have great friends this semester. 

Music and design are still my passions, but this semester limited both of these areas, so I was forced in a way to explore different avenues. My Philosophy of Art class is an example of this, but in this case it was very enjoyable. 

Well, I need to work on finals and presentations. Sorry for such irregular posting. 

~Olivia