If you are uncomfortable, you are learning. Those seven words that my own mother has uttered more times than I can count have taken on a whole new meaning this year. Coming from a high school surrounded by cornfields for miles and graduating with a class of 99 percent white students, I felt as though my own cultural awareness and education was in my own … Continue reading Learning through the discomfort
As we near the end of our time together on the hill for this semester, some of us may be considering our plans for when we once again go home and somehow be a college student from home. I only recently realized that students have the option to come back to campus during the online period post-Thanksgiving. I am very happy that Gustavus has given … Continue reading Should I stay or should I go?
COVID-19 has made everything in life exponentially more difficult, especially socialization. One of the hardest obstacles I’ve had to face this year is figuring out how to enjoy my time alone. It is a new challenge, but it has given me time to reflect on my situation, which has brought out a lot of positive change. While self-reflection is nice, I can’t help but miss … Continue reading How safe are “COVID bubbles”?
Having made it halfway through the semester, I am sure that most of us are ready to either throw our laptops into the snow or personally confront the CEO of Zoom. Now that we are over seven months into Zoom University, Zoom fatigue has reached an all-time max. Unfortunately, according to National Geographic, communicating over video call “requires sustained and intense attention.” Unlike when we … Continue reading Battling Zoom Fatigue
On snowy October days, I often find myself wondering why, of all places in the United States, I continue to live here in Minnesota. October 20 seems a bit early to be experiencing snow accumulation, let alone four to seven inches of it. Maybe the occurrence of such a weather event is in part due to climate change, which can make the weather more variable … Continue reading Reasons to live in Minnesota
I think it’s safe to say that Gusties love their dogs. If you’ve ever gone to a Pause for Paws event, you’d know what I’m talking about. The Dive is almost always packed with excited students hoping to get a slobbery kiss from a fluffy Samoyed to help them forget about the midterms they haven’t yet started studying for. Well, maybe that was just me. … Continue reading Gusties need dogs
As you all may have noticed by now, the communal vacuums in the dorms have mysteriously vanished. While this is a tragic loss, and one worthy of our 2020 master list of disasters, we all know it was necessary because… Wait, why was it necessary again? Let’s go back to the move-in email sent out by Res Life on Sept. 8, shall we? Surely that … Continue reading The case of the missing vacuum
With all the ads, phone calls, emails and texts I’ve been receiving, it comes as no surprise that the 2020 election is just around the corner. Many people are facing this with a mix of emotions. Some are excited about the possibility of new leadership while others are anxious. For me, election time has always been filled with anxiety, even before I could vote. I … Continue reading Your vote does matter
Deciding to take my final semester of college courses via an all-online format was not a smooth process. I went back and forth between a certainty that I was ready to move back to campus and a fear that if I did go back, I would not be as healthy of a student and person as I might be learning at home. Before the on-campus … Continue reading Making the choice to learn from home: The reason and the results
Last January, I went on a J-Term course to Iceland titled “Glaciers, Volcanos, Sagas, and Songs: Interweaving Culture & Landscape in Iceland.” A big part of the course was looking at how isolation both from the world and from other Icelanders shapes Icelandic culture. At the time I had no idea how intimately I’d get to know isolation. We spent a few days in Reykjavík … Continue reading Faith of darkness: Iceland and isolation
