Much like the many other citizens of Ohio and the United States, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has altered my plans for 2020. Instead of finishing my final semester at Ohio University in Athens, OH, the pandemic has caused me to stay in my family home in Hinckley and finish my college career remotely.
This change is much needed with the crisis the country and the rest of the world is facing. In reality, this is a simple adjustment compared to the serious issues many others are facing around the world currently. No matter what, however, everyone’s lives are being affected in many ways.
The adjustment to taking classes remotely is something that every Ohio University student has been forced to come to grips with quickly. As students, we decided coming to Ohio University would be a way of bettering ourselves and it would help prepare us for the future. Part of being prepared for the future is dealing with any challenges that may arise.
Part of the challenge of moving to online classes is no longer being able to interact and work directly with classmates and professors. Students rely on each other when they may have an issue and working remotely has created a small roadblock in that communication.
In the case of Valley Reality, we are making the rapid adjustment of working with our teams through technology to keep telling the stories of great communities. As a part of this site’s editing team, we are doing whatever we can to keep those stories flowing. In many ways, people need some sort of distraction while dealing this with pandemic, and we hope to provide a small outlet for those who want a distraction.
A part of what makes a community great is managing challenges together and helping when others are in need. With the problems we are all facing right now, our communities, no matter where we are, are going to help us overcome any challenge we face. The best way of working through tough times is by working together, and that is what we should all be helping to do right now, as communities.