The New Normal

Rachel Currier and Christina Forde

My best friend and I take pictures together like it's our job. Christina and I are seniors at Springfield and were roommates until we had to leave campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were so used to seeing each other every day - spending the majority of our time together throughout the last year and even taking the same classes for what was going to be our last (and what we thought, the best) semester at Springfield. Having to move back home, three hours away from my best friend, half way through the spring semester is one of the hardest things I've had to do. We decided about a month and a half after we left campus that it was safe enough for Christina to come visit me for a few days, since we'd both been quarantined since we got home. It was exactly what we both needed - human contact, to spend time with someone you haven't seen every day for the last 45 days. It was a relief, but it didn't come without it's own hurdles. We still had to stay quarantined in my house, we had to wear masks to go on a hike, and we still had to sanitize the coffee cups we got from Dunkin that weekend. You don't realize how grateful you should be for the little things in life, like being able to see your roommate every day and not having to carry around alcohol wipes and masks everywhere you go. But like I said, this is the new normal.

Even though we were able to see each other, we still had to follow all the protocols that have been set in place - that's why we're wearing masks in the picture.

Rachel Currier

Springfield College

Rachel Currier

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