It’s weird to look back to one year ago and think about how none of this existed — the masks, the consistent sanitizing, the deadly virus. Everything was — to us — normal. 

But now, everything has changed, even the idea of “normal.” 

The days, weeks and months have all warped into one. I can’t seem to remember what day it is or what month we are in anymore. 

Every day begins the same way. Some might call me a cartoon character in a TV show, who follows the same routine everyday.

 In the morning my alarm goes off, scaring me out of a peaceful sleep. “Beep, beep, beep, beep.” An all too familiar sound most people dread — whether it’s in the morning, afternoon or night.

Once I am slightly awake, I lay in bed for the next hour — scrolling through my social media. Some days I might give my parents a call and talk for a bit. 

After what seems like an hour or so, I decide to get up and start my day.

 While stretching, I moan and groan like an old person with terrible aches and pains. My feet hit the soft carpet and carry me to the window where I open the curtains and get blinded by the warm morning sun.

 After staring outside my window and watching people make their way to classes, I make my way to the kitchen and pour myself a big glass of peppermint iced coffee, one of my morning favorites.

I continue my morning by getting dressed, making my bed, brushing my teeth and stuffing my backpack with textbooks for the day. COVID-19 has put a lot of my classes online, causing me to only attend in-person instruction on Mondays and Tuesdays.

 If I have enough time before class, instead of being studious I turn on an episode of “Greys Anatomy,” because why not?

After a while, I check the time and realize it’s time to head out. I mentally go through my check list before walking out the front door:

Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Backpack? Check. Face mask? Facepalm. How could I have almost forgotten our, now, most essential item? I groan again while walking back to my room to grab it and head out.

Then, I’ll go to my one and only class of the day and make my way to Davies Student Center to meet my boyfriend and roommate for lunch. Once there I will spend hours in a booth doing homework.

After what seems like forever, we all hit our breaking point for the day and head back home. At home, we start our night routine: lay out in the living room and complain about school and homework, then move to the kitchen to make dinner.

After dinner, we transition into baking. So far, my boyfriend, roommate and I have tried to bake macaroons but have had no luck as of yet. So, if you have any tricks send them our way.

We spend hours baking, talking and hanging out before finally deciding to go lay in my room to watch a couple episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Precisely at 9 p.m. (or slightly after since I always lose track of time) I FaceTime with my family to talk and see my zoo of animals. I have a dog, three cats, a gecko and some fish back in my hometown.

After I hang up on them, my boyfriend, roommate and I watch a couple more episodes then decide to go our separate ways for the night.

My roommate showers and heads to bed.

I follow suit. I shower, do my skincare routine, get comfy in bed, then scroll through my social media for an hour before hitting the hay for another riveting day of being a college student during a global pandemic.

Geiger can be reached at [email protected].