How One Week Can Change Everything

Midterm week. A time many students dread. I have only experienced two midterm weeks, but this one was and will be the worst. Not because I flunked a test or wrote a lackluster paper. No, this was entirely different. When I left Marist, nothing was certain, but there was something deep down that told me that I would not be returning. Were they really going to rob us of the last two months of the semester?

It was a brilliant start to what would be a terrible week. Monday was sunny with temperatures reaching above 70 degrees. The campus green was brilliantly juxtaposed against the beautiful blue of the Hudson River. It seemed like the entire campus was outside enjoying the day. My friends and I spent the late afternoon soaking in the early spring sun and speculating about the future. I’m not sure how seriously we took coronavirus back then. A mere three weeks ago I heard enough bad jokes about coronavirus to make me think I was at some low-level comedy club. I was laughing then, but not now.

Tuesday was filled with more speculation. I can’t remember any classes or any tests I might have taken. My mind was focused on one thing: basketball. I was lucky enough to cover the Marist women’s team as a freshman. People often forget that the college basketball season stretches on for five months. One is known above the rest: March. It is the time for college basketball teams to etch their names into history books. Marist’s quest began with the MAAC Tournament in Atlantic City. I planned to head down for the finals over the weekend and then find my way home. While many smarter people were worried about the impact of coronavirus, I was worried about a train ticket. Looking back on it, that was pretty silly.

Wednesday was surreal. I spent most of the day in the Center Field office working on a few articles. I began to see how the worried murmurs of coronavirus were gripping campus. A few hours later, I would get the news that spring break was extended another week. The writing was on the wall, but I remained painfully oblivious. That night the campus was eerily quiet. As I set off for an evening lecture, I saw the sun low in the sky over the Hudson. “Surely, this can’t get any worse,” I thought to myself. I was wrong.

Thursday was the day when it all came crashing down. I remember being in my statistics class and not paying attention to anything the teacher said. I was more focused on the incessant string of alerts that kept popping up on my phone. This event is canceled. That one is postponed until the Fall. The final nail in the coffin came when the MAAC became the 30th (out of 32) conferences to cancel its postseason tournament. The basketball team, especially the venerated seniors, would not have their chance to make their run to the NCAA Tournament, which was canceled shortly after. That was the moment when it hit me. I’m sure most people had theirs well before that Thursday afternoon, but that was when I realized just how much of a problem this was. I was gutted for the seniors on the basketball team and I told anyone who would listen how unfair this all was. I know life isn’t fair, but this seemed particularly cruel.

That night, my friends and I went to Applebee’s for one last hurrah. It felt more like a funeral. The next day, we would exchange goodbyes and head back home. Perhaps away from home depending on how you feel about Marist.

I didn’t think about much as I packed and loaded my belongings into my mother’s car on Friday afternoon. You could say I was on auto-pilot. I couldn’t bring myself to show my true emotions as I watched my friends leave, one after another. When it was my turn to go, I said my not-too emotional goodbyes and got into the driver’s seat. I was about to begin the nearly four hour drive to Syracuse, NY, my home away from Marist.

Driving on the west-bound part of the New York State Thruway is not the most exciting thing in the world. Your mind tends to bounce from subject to subject. I could not stop thinking about the contrast between Monday’s brilliant weather and the doom and gloom that set in during the later part of the week. On Monday, coronavirus seemed so far away but by Friday it was reality. I was reminded of how much I took things for granted. My friends, our beautiful campus and even schoolwork. It’s crazy how much the world can change in a week. Looking back, I should have seen it coming, but I didn’t.

Although these are challenging times, it’s important to remember that we are all going through the same thing. If we take refuge in each other, we will get past this.