Freshly Brewed Babble: Doing College During A Pandemic Without Being Miserable

If you know me at all, you know that fall is my favorite season. Perfectly temperate weather outside, the tastiest flavors from the spice rack put to work, a rotation of my cozy sweater collection… what’s not to love (oh, apart from my irrational fear of Halloween stores)? Autumns in Syracuse are especially my favorite. The campus is that much prettier when it’s dressed in warm tones, and I could not be more excited to be back in Upstate New York for this time of year once again. You can’t see, but under my mask, I’m actually smiling. Example A: my recent tweet humiliatingly admitting my excitement about “yam season.”

As grateful as I am to be spending yam season in Syracuse, it’s inevitably going to look quite different this year. I’m not sure if it’s the big white eyesores of tents pitched around campus for outdoor classes or the Command hook piled with masks next to my light switch, but something feels off. Being a college student during a pandemic writes a story for my future grandchildren all by itself. As much as I miss my routine of hitting the gym, sitting down in a café, sipping on my coffee while penciling a long list of outings and meetings in my planner before running to class, allow me to shed some light on my COVID-restricted college experience. Now that over a month has passed of my outfit-coordinately masked, compulsively sanitized and socially distant semester on campus, I figured I’d share my greatest takeaways.

Good Ol’ Wholesome Fun

I wouldn’t quite call it playing dress-up, but getting dolled up for no good reason certainly elicits some childhood-reminiscent thrill. Whether it’s strutting down the hall in a fierce outfit or coordinating a themed small gathering (extreme emphasis on small, especially if my mother or the CDC is reading this) with my pod of friends, there’s never a wrong night to feel your best. Sure, everyone loves to relax in sweats and rock the no-makeup look, but we had months on quarantine for that. Even if it’s only to snap a decent photo, getting dressed up has been a foolproof method of creating my own fun these days.

I know I just said before that quarantine was reserved for sweats and bare faces, but I partially take that back. Sometimes a laidback girls’ night is the best remedy for a stressful week of online classes and minimal active movement. What a sob story, I know! All jokes aside, spending nights in with my pod has brought back the nostalgia of sleepover activities: spa nights, canvas painting, movie marathons and prank calls. Throw in a bowl of popcorn and you have the classic slumber party scene from every chick flick ever.

Channeling Your Inner Dora

I’ll be totally honest here: I did not pick Syracuse for the location. In fact, as a freshman, I probably couldn’t tell you anything more about the area than Dinosaur BBQ being a quick drive downtown. I think it’s pretty clear where my priorities were (cough cough, finding the best mac and cheese in town).

Now that my weekends have opened up, so has my agenda to explore all the spots New York state has to offer. Within the first three weeks of school, I’ve already hiked at Green Lakes, visited Ithaca Farmer’s Market, gone apple picking at Beak and Skiff orchard, picnicked in Thornden Park, tried new restaurants downtown, and made a true effort—for the first time—to venture around Upstate New York.

Photo by Chelsea Stern

Apart from scoping out the attractions miles away, I’ve also found peace in pacing around campus—a tad further than my usual trek to class. It’s incredible what you discover two years too late if you just walk a little more. Who would’ve known there’s a florist on South Campus?

In Da Kitchen

There’s just no feeling that compares to a slept-in morning complimented with banana pancakes griddled with pads of butter (refer to my quarantine blog post about my infatuation with perfecting my pancakes). This, of course, would be incomplete without some breathy Jack Johnson tunes playing through the kitchen. While I’m usually all about a decently healthy banana oat pancake, sometimes the fluffiness of some flour-filled flapjacks are what you need. Also, the banana bread craze has followed me to college… a bit embarrassing, I know. It’s not a craving for comfort food but rather a need to get rid of my rotting bananas because I’m a college student who is still figuring out the lifespan of produce. After all, if you’re going to begin your day with banana pancakes, you might as well end it with some late-night banana chocolate chip muffins, right?

Photo by Chelsea Stern

With the recent Jewish holiday, having a kitchen has been the saving grace of home-cooked holiday meals (that might’ve been sacrilegious, but just play along). We’ve all fallen ill with homesickness, and mine stems from missing my mother’s cooking. Recreating her recipes in my own little kitchen cubicle makes me feel a little more at home, especially when it comes to late-night snacking.

A Home Away from Home

Did you have an interior design phase growing up or are you normal? Okay, follow up question: did you have an interior design Pinterest board pre-adulthood or are you normal? Those were only partially rhetoric, but if you’re missing my point, using my apartment as an opportunity to dabble in design has been the height of my fascination with HGTV. I’m considering this as the training before I move into my big girl NYC dream apartment. Side note to any employers here: I really need a job with a salary that’ll cover the expense of said big girl NYC dream apartment. Whoever said “it’s all in the details,” really hit the nail on the head.

Getting creative with finds for my living space has been quite a challenge to tackle, especially on a college student’s budget. Fresh flowers from the farmer’s market liven up the room with bright colors. I believe there are three types of plant people in this world: flower people, succulent people or leafy green people. Figure out your style and bring some nature into your home. No shame in being a plant mom! LED lights are overdone, yes, but having the ability to set lighting to a dim setting in a color of your choice grants you complete control over the ambiance. It’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to living in a smart home, so I’ll take it. Don’t leave the coffee table in the dark, though. Give it some love, whether it’s with a seasonal scented candle or a spread of magazines.

This past month has been a noteworthy one, to say the least. It’s pretty strange to be living through a moment in history that I know will claim pages of textbooks and spaces of archives. I’ve noticed some recent debates about who has it the worst: primary school children, high school seniors, college students, graduates seeking jobs, the working class or retirees. The truth of the matter is that everyone’s experience has completely shifted from its once state of normal; it’s all relative. In the words of my late rabbi (may his memory be a blessing), of course in light of the holiday spirit, “the only people who like change are babies.” Let’s face it, we have tried to resist the changes of the pandemic—the social norms and the safety restrictions—until Cuomo forced them down our throats. Let’s reconfigure this mentality that change is foul and find the good in our new norm. Scratch that, let’s find the good in today. Every day brings new opportunities and change, so don’t let your mask keep you from smiling, especially if you love yam season, and dig up a reason to make this pandemic a positive turning point in our lives.

#lifestyle #cooking #exploring #adventure #design #autumn #fall #campus #pandemic #coronavirus