Like the groceries we buy at the store, we can either say yes to all these invigorating experiences and make the most of them, or we can squander them.
Are 20-year-olds allowed to call people old friends yet? If so, Tommy is an old friend. It was 2014, my freshman year of high school. Pink braces, plaid flats, side bangs and an unreasonable amount of confidence were the most notable things about me during this time. Skinny jeans, too much cologne, black vans and weed were the things most notable about Tommy during the same time.
The automatic opening doors at Kroger’s entrance offered an inviting feeling of warmth compared to the cold outside. My brother, Kalen, and I dodged shopping carts making their way out the building. There were too many people here. Definitely too many for a Monday afternoon. Every person who passed us had a cart that was entirely too full. Some had multiple family members pushing a cart throughout the store. Shelves that once held food were bare. The toilet paper, I found out from a conversation between two employees, had been “out for days,” but they were hoping for a new shipment soon.
Cover photo courtesy of Helena Wolenski
The Interfaith Center of Oxford is holding free Mindful Moment Sessions via Zoom every Friday from 11:45 a.m to 12:00 p.m. These 15-minute meditation sessions are led by meditation practitioner and Interfaith Center board member, Prince Johnson II. He trained at the Cincinnati Yoga School and serves as a guide for Mindful Moment participants.
When I wasn’t scrolling through my feed, I felt like I was missing out. When I was scrolling through my feed, I felt like I was missing out. I couldn’t win.
News of the novel coronavirus circulated all over Tunisia where Miami University junior Elyse Legeay was studying as part of her study abroad experience.
This is “Thoughts from Quarantine,” a weekly series in which three of our editors will answer a variation of this simple question: “How are you feeling?” This week’s prompt is, “How are you feeling about online classes?”
Hands-on learning plays a large role in many laboratory courses across campus. Since Miami University announced it would no longer be holding face-to-face classes, lab students and faculty have been adjusting to losing that experience.
For some students, the cancellation of the semester meant going home to the safety of their homes and families where they could all bond over the fact their lives have been put on hold indefinitely. For others, it meant the complete opposite. These students have gone home to find their family members thrown onto the frontline, their lives shifted into overdrive as they are also placed in the line of fire while their relatives fight the good fight against the novel coronavirus.
Life under quarantine has done treacherous things to our clothing rotations. Putting together an outfit that I couldn’t go to bed in just seems wrong to me right now, and even thinking about putting on a pair of jeans feels physically repulsive.
Although I internally stressed over the encroaching perils to my grades, I couldn’t motivate myself to properly study.
Miami University President Greg Crawford announced in an email to faculty on April 18 that he and other senior university administrators will take a voluntary pay reduction beginning May 1 in an effort to support students during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
I know that I’m young and healthy, so the chances of me dying from the coronavirus are slim, but I still find myself going over the what-if’s late at night.
On some days, Oxford seems deserted. Along High Street, shops and restaurants lie empty; the warm neon of their “open” signs stand in stark contrast to their vacant interiors. On colder days, uptown park is devoid of life, its stone animal statues the only creatures to be found. Brick Street, the de facto hub of the uptown social scene, greets visitors with shuttered windows and a sign that reads “We miss you. Stay safe.” When the sun shines, Oxford emerges, and the would-be ghost town is strangely full of life.
Mike Davis, Talawanda school district treasurer, died last week at age 65 of complications from the novel coronavirus.
Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, many companies have begun to work remotely to protect their employees. While the multiple stay-at-home orders issued in different states are expected to be lifted before summer, many companies are changing their plans for interns and new hires.
I turned the key, and my car purred to life. It had been a little more than a week since I had left my house, let alone driven. The headlights illuminated the small forest of trees in my backyard. I connected my phone to the speaker and glanced over at my 17-year-old brother, John, in the passenger seat. We needed to escape our parents just for the night.
This is “Thoughts from Quarantine,” a weekly series in which three of our editors will answer a variation of this simple question: “How are you feeling?” This week’s prompt is, “How are you feeling about being apart from your Oxford friends/significant others during self-quarantine?"