After spending three semesters learning online due to a global pandemic, the return to campus seemed so dreadful.
I had my first in-person class on Feb. 2, which was television production and boy, did I have cold feet.
With journalism classes being hands-on, thoughts of uncertainty washed over me.
Should I risk stepping foot on campus when my mom and I are at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19? Is being a journalism major worth it? What did I get myself into?
The battle of health versus education can make you go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
I wanted to keep myself and others safe without worry, but I also wanted to experience being in a news studio before I transfer this fall.
The vaccination requirements and mask mandates felt like a safety net, but the new COVID-19 variants that continue to come out of the blue made me think otherwise.
Hesitant and nervous, I proceeded with attending class and decided to look at the bright side.
News studio tour and networking? What better way to explore, expose and expand my resources as a journalist.
Walking up the steps of campus felt out of the ordinary. The campus was massive and I couldn’t help but have disbelief written all over my face.

There were a few students scattered all over the campus benches and when I entered the library, I found a couple of students sitting comfortably and studying as if it were any other day on a college campus.
The tea I had that morning was not the only thing hard to swallow; it was reality. I was indeed, on campus grounds for the first time, after two years of sitting in front of a computer screen.
The walk to the news studio felt unbelievably long and my head swiveled from side to side the entire time.
During the studio tour, it seemed like a few of us were anxious.
You could say there was a giant question mark hanging in the air of whether or not we were standing too close to each other or being too distant.
The uneasiness started to dissipate when my professor told everyone to find a partner so that we could line scripts.
I couldn’t believe that I was on a college campus, interacting with a human being in closer proximity than usual.
For a moment, I almost forgot how to start a conversation, but eventually, the realization of not bringing a pen to class hit me. Quarantine really did a number on me.
The debate of whether or not a backpack or a purse was worth bringing, sure sparked conversation. While everyone else brought their backpack, I was the odd one out.
I had nothing in hand. Lesson learned.
Once class was over, I left the building with my script-lining partner.
So caught up in conversation, I ended up walking out the wrong doors with them.
It didn’t help that I didn’t notice until I was more than halfway to the wrong parking lot on campus. Lesson learned yet again.
Now on the right path, I walked to my car and thought to myself, ‘despite the mishaps, it’s not so bad.’
While Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent announcement relaxing the mask mandate indoors for people who are vaccinated had made me uncomfortable, the Los Rios Community College District’s decision to maintain the districtwide mask requirement was a breath of fresh, COVID-free air.
Being fully vaccinated and boosted, wearing an N-95 mask and taking my daily vitamins are the only things keeping me sane because they’re ways to lower my chance of severe illness.
The pandemic isn’t going to magically disappear and I can’t stay locked up in the house forever. All I can do is adapt to change.