If anyone had told me last year that 2020 was going to be the year where a deadly virus decided to show up and create havoc, I would have thought you were insane, but now that seems more reasonable now considering everything that has happened. From the riots that have caused mayhem and chaos to society to huge forest fires that are laying down destruction and driving people out of their homes on the west coast, it's truly quite a time to be alive. As if that isn't enough for the average college student to put up with, there's also the incompetent actions of the universities.

You have professors who don't understand how zoom works, you have fraternities and sororities hosting gatherings and parties in violation of social distancing rules, you have campuses like UNC-Chapel Hill that immediately switch to all online classes, not even a week of being reopened due to a case of 130 students being tested positive of COVID. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg, but I will spare you any further details. It's times like this where it feels like to me that's it never-ending, where the hope for good news seems so far away and the desire to achieve well in online schools seems to dwindle, with every day becoming a blur upon hours and hours of zoom courses and awkward staring at the screen while trying to stay focused.

However, what's funny about all of this craziness is some positives that have come out of this dark time. I've found time to exercise more, to read more books for leisure, another advantage is that I am able to spend more time with family and enjoy more family time with them as a college student that is currently at home. Who knew that something like the pandemic can bring all of us today and teach us the value of life itself, showing us that every minute counts and one needs to try to make use of their own time regardless of whatever happens.

While 2020 is definitely the year of hardships and mayhem, it can also be seen as the year of growth and understanding of one other.