{"id":1724,"date":"2020-10-26T06:16:08","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T10:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/?p=1724"},"modified":"2021-01-27T08:34:32","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T13:34:32","slug":"reflections-life-and-covid-19-ilia-mahns-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/2020\/10\/26\/reflections-life-and-covid-19-ilia-mahns-23\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections: Life and COVID-19 &#8211; ilia mahns &#8217;23"},"content":{"rendered":"<script>fsg_json['fsg_post_1724'] = [\n{id: 1726, image: 'http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9006.jpg', extlink: '', thumb: 'https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9006-290x290.jpg', permalink: '<div class=\"galleria-layeritem\"><a title=\"Permalink\" href=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/2020\/10\/26\/reflections-life-and-covid-19-ilia-mahns-23\/img_9006\/#0\"><div class=\"galleria-link-bookmark\"><\/div><\/a><\/div>', layer: '<div class=\"galleria-infolayer\"><div class=\"galleria-layeritem\" style=\"padding-right: 20px;\"><h1>IMG_9006<\/h1><\/div><div class=\"galleria-layeritem\"><a title=\"Permalink\" href=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/2020\/10\/26\/reflections-life-and-covid-19-ilia-mahns-23\/img_9006\/#0\"><div class=\"galleria-link-bookmark\"><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"galleria-layeritem\" style=\"padding-right: 20px;\"><\/div>'}\n];<\/script>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This COVID-19 semester at Vassar has been memorable for different reasons. So many things are different and there are a lot of anxious th<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">oughts about everyone\u2019s safety and the state of the wor<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ld. It can feel suffocating at times because out of all the horrible things happening in the world, you are trapped in a bubble at Vassar. It is easy to lose touch with reality and feels almost like a dream.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1725 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"326\" height=\"244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9007-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9007-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9007.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 326px) 100vw, 326px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But <a data-postid=\"fsg_post_1724\" data-imgid=\"1726\" href=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9006.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1726 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9006-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"264\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9006-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9006.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a>memorable also in the sense that some of the most beautiful moments have emerged from one of the darkest points of my life. There are so many trees on campus and I feel like I have more time to connect with nature. There are so many amazing people here that I have been able to spend quality time with and have vulnerable conversations with. I feel like COVID-19 has affected everyone in different ways and degrees, so we are all just trying to go through it together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1729 size-medium alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_8806-e1603707303506-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_8806-e1603707303506-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_8806-e1603707303506-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some local restaurants come onto campus and sell food in Noyes circle. I go get my chai latte at Crafted Kup every week with my friend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I also recently deleted all my\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">social media with my fri<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">end. We decided to go on more walks to the farm and Sunday is our designate<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0walk day. I found a spot by Sunset Lake that always has turtles sitting on a log. Pods have also been a great way to restimulate social life at Vassar. Those TH parties cannot com<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">pare to our pod parties! \ud83d\ude09\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over this past summer in quarantine I did a Ford Scholars Project and spent a lot of time reflecting on my life. From this, I feel I was better able to grow and accept myself. Now being back on campus, my relationships have flourished and I have made close friendships with people I had never talked to last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I am now a sophomore. If I co<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">uld give my first-year self advice, I would say \u201cBelieve in yourself.\u201d I went through a lot in my first ye<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ar and had a rough quarantine. Being on campus can be triggering, but Va<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">ssar has given me a lot of support through Metcalf and SAVP (very important res<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ources). We can all make it through. Be kind to yourself and surround yourself with people that give you all the love and support you deserve. \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1728 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9372-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"349\" height=\"262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9372-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9372-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9372-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9372.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 349px) 100vw, 349px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1727 aligncenter\" style=\"font-size: 1rem\" src=\"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"233\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9010-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/files\/2020\/10\/IMG_9010.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This COVID-19 semester at Vassar has been memorable for different reasons. So many things are different and there are a lot of anxious thoughts about everyone\u2019s safety and the state&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8916,"featured_media":1728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85257,25924],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-85257","category-international-students-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8916"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1724"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1724\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1737,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1724\/revisions\/1737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/international-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}