Zoom University; Being a College Student in 2020

There is something so crushing about sitting down at a desk for anywhere from 5 to 11 hours a day and listening to online lectures. Juxtaposedly, there is something even more crushing about the self-loathing that arrives when health and education privileges are highlighted. By that I mean, that the mental health struggles that come with online learning are minimized — and rightfully so — by the constant and significant reminder that we are living through a pandemic that has today killed around a 1.7million people worldwide. Furthermore, the frustration of being a student during these times that has to spend many hours at a computer is also negated by the insane privilege that is the owning of technological devices that can be used for online learning, the access to constant Wifi and the ability to continue to be a student rather than have to take on jobs for survival. So the easy conclusion is: this year is a shit show. Convenient and comfortable, the perpetual conversations about how difficult 2020 has been, in reality, achieve nothing. Apart from the short-lived relief from a satisfying rant, the frustration and lack of recognition of privilege that comes with the “F**k 2020” conversations are counterintuitive. It may well be November when I am writing this and January when I am posting this but I want to engage in a reflective, vicarious activity.