End of Spring 2022: Reflection

 Well, it looks like it's finally here, not me graduating, but possibly the end of COVID-19. The keyword is possibly right? I want to believe that things are finally lifting for the better but I'm too much of a skeptic; I'll be keeping my mask on for a little while longer. As we come out of this, I hope that sense of togetherness that was fostered throughout this pandemic isn't dropped so fast. I think a lot of people learned that it was okay to be vulnerable with one another as this pandemic affected everyone. I know that throughout this class we have never shied away from the mental aspect of it all, and I am grateful for that, but I think I just worry about how that might not be the case for everybody else. 

Truthfully the pandemic has also made me reflect on my career path. It is clear that online communications and cloud storage are going to need to be bolstered for whatever comes next or to just accommodate the new wave of at-home workers (for whom I am so jealous of lol), but I kind of think the education bug I had has fallen off the wagon. From the work I've gotten to do in education, I am very appreciative of those experiences, but I also realize how poor the infrastructure was at all schools. It's a systemic issue. It did not seem to matter if it was a university, a middle school, or a community college; educators were left dead in the water. I think education was always a "maybe when I retire" sort of route for me, but now I wonder if I ever want to set foot in a classroom. It's clear that it's not just an issue about money anymore, but an issue of respect towards our educators. I'm not exactly grinning ear to ear at the fact that I'll probably be balled up in a cubicle longer than I anticipated, I think I only wish it wasn't so bad.

At the same time, we all can't give up hope either. Education will always have a place in my heart as a passion project, and I think as the content shuffling continues we may eventually land on the next generation of great mentors. Of course, this big shift is contingent on that same early pandemic positivity barrelling through for the rest of our lives, which means I have to just stay a little more positive every day.

I can't wait to give this blog another entry in the fall, but until then I'm just gonna hope I can maintain my gpa for these coming finals. Have a good break y'all!