May 7, 2020
Did you change your spring break plans because of the virus? From what to what?
I did change my spring break plans. I was planning on volunteering at SXSW 2020, and I was going to use the opportunity to network with filmmakers like myself. After the festival was cancelled, I was just going to focus on catching up on schoolwork until classes started up again, but the Friday of spring break, I got a call from my parents. They said that they were flying me home to Philadelphia the next morning, so I had about twelve hours to pack as much stuff as I could before going home.
How did you feel when you were informed the remainder of the semester would be held online?
I was not happy at all. I was already in one online class, and it was very difficult to stay on top of the work for a class that I wasn’t physically going to. The thought of needing to do that with my four other courses was not something I was looking forward to.
Where will you be living while courses are held online? Is this a change from usual?
I had to come home to Philadelphia and live with my family. My sister was also forced to move back in, so all six of us were back in the house.
How has the virus (and the precautions taken to prevent it spreading) impacted your daily life?
My life has been impacted because I had to travel all the way back to Philadelphia at a moment’s notice because my parents were afraid domestic air travel would be halted. I think the hardest thing about being home though is the fact that all of my childhood friends are back home from college as well, but none of us can get together and hangout.
Are you staying in? What are you doing to pass the time?
I haven’t really had a choice but to stay in. To pass the time, I’ve mostly been doing schoolwork. However, I do get distracted from time to time, and I’ve gotten really good at Tetris. Since being quarantined, I’ve also memorized every single Stanley Cup winner all the way back to 1927. I also bought a subscription for Xbox Live for the first time in probably two years, and I’ve been playing some Halo: Reach, which was one of my favorite video games growing up.
Are you going out? Where do you go and what is it like?
The only place my family and I are going is to our cousin’s house every couple of days. Other than that, we haven’t been able to go anywhere since all of the Northeast is on lock down.
What is giving you hope and/or strength right now?
The thing giving me hope right now is that I got a summer internship with the Austin Film Festival, and my friends and I are very close to settling on an apartment back in Austin. I’m hoping that I will be able to come back to Texas soon.
