By: Ragan Love
I expected to spend Spring Break practicing flute and hanging out with my friends. Instead, I spent it moving out of the dorms and heading home to Colorado to begin remote learning.
I was sad to leave Portland and my new adult life and nervous to be traveling. I get sick very easily and worried I could potentially spread COVID-19 to other people. But I knew that the safest place to quarantine would be home with my family.
As an out-of-state student,I couldn’t take everything home with me. Luckily, I have an uncle who lives in Portland, and he let me store some of my belongings at his house. But this came with the challenge of sorting what I would keep in Portland and what I would take home with me to Colorado.
Since I am doing schoolwork while I am at home, I had to pack all of my textbooks and flute accessories. I could only take two suitcases and two backpacks on the plane, which limited what I could bring back with me to Colorado. I also had to make sure I had enough clothing with me for the next six months. But I was surprised at the items that I was able to part with, like my ukulele and sweaters. I ended up having room to take home old textbooks that I could sell, snacks that I had just bought, and hygiene products that I was still using.
When I moved to Portland six months ago I had my dad, mom, uncle, and grandma helping me unpack, but this time it was just me. My family did not feel comfortable being in the social setting of a college dorm so I had to move everything by myself. The most stressful part about this process was going through it alone . The dorms were empty when I moved out, so it was easy to move my belongings out.
Once I got back to Colorado, I tried to enjoy my Spring break before the quarter started back up. I have a piano at home, so I will be able to be successful in my piano class, but without a personal desk all of my school supplies are sprawled across my dining room table. My father is an essential worker and still leaves every day to his food packaging plant. My brother and I stay inside and quarantine. He is a senior in high school so we will both be working on remote learning together and it will be interesting to see how we learn as we are both visual- and performing arts-focused.
This is a big transition that I wasn’t prepared to take in the middle of March, but the transition feels successful so far. It will be an interesting ride with online classes, especially as a music major, but I think this experience will help us all learn how to adapt to different situations. I miss my friends, my new independence, and the city, but coming home was a good choice to help protect myself and my loved ones.