Ever since all face-to-face classes have been cancelled and school has become 100% virtual, everything has changed for me.

I used to set my alarm for 7 a.m. to make sure I got to school on time, but now that classes are online, I tend to sleep till noon and start my day there. My sleep schedule is completely ruined.

I stay up late and wake up even later. Half the day is gone and I will wake up telling everyone ‘good morning’ when it is 2 p.m. Some teachers will give you a day to complete a test while others make you take the test at the normal time you attend the class. That really messes with my sleep. I can sleep in late for three days, and then boom, wake up at 7:30 to get ready for a test at 8:00. I am not even fully human that early in the morning.

Classes have not been completely absurd though. Many teachers have cut no slack to this new change, and the Dean has been informed many times, but my teachers have been making this transition as smooth as possible for us. Even though they have all done their best trying to help my class out, just transitioning itself is hard. Having to take responsibility for waking up in the morning and completing all the work in the allotted time at free will definitely has its downsides.

Procrastination is now an enormous factor of getting school work done. Online school has the perk of being able to push work back, but then it all piles up and is due on the same day – it can get nerve-wracking. I know I can get really lazy at times, so I try even harder to hold myself accountable now more than ever. So far I have been completing my work on time, but there have been a few times when I woke up late and missed a test. Luckily, I was able to make it up. Having to make sure the computer you use has all the formats for lockdown quizzes or other assignments is another downside.

I have a Chromebook, and not everything works on my laptop, so I have to go to campus and borrow one at times so I can take my test. This was really a struggle when I had my first history test online. Respondus LockDown Browser could not be accessed on a Chromebook and I had no clue what to do. I emailed my teacher and was allowed another chance to take the test but still could not understand what was going on and why I could not take the test. I was finally able to take the test when I borrowed a computer from campus.

This transition has been really stressful and really eye-opening on how much face-to-face classes are extremely valuable and underappreciated. Although technology is evolving so rapidly, students have to learn to evolve as well. That is the hardest part of online school: having to evolve and adapt. I’m not used to waking up and doing all my school work in my pajamas while lying in bed. I realized how caved up I was when I would wake up, start my school work and come out of my room to dinner being ready.

I would spend all my time on my laptop doing schoolwork after waking up at noon, then finally leave the room at around five or six.

Online classes are very strenuous to get used to, and they are definitely not my first choice of learning, but I have to play the hand I was dealt. I have to change my old habits to new ones to get through this hard time just like the rest of the university.