Editor’s note: “The new normal” is a continuing series that looks into how members of the Los Medanos College community are coping with a shelter-in-place order amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Students at Los Medanos College are still recovering from the rapid change of having face-to-face classes suddenly move online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Hailey Finucane lives with her grandparents in Pittsburg and has had to deal with her life turning upside down due to the virus.

“I can’t work because I was at a movie theater which isn’t essential and I also can’t go out and get a new job because I live with my elderly immunocompromised grandparents,” she said. “School is online which is difficult for me, and I don’t know when the next time I can see my girlfriend, friends, and sisters [is].”

Her father, step mother and three sisters live up in Oregon and with strict restrictions against travelling means she is unable to see her family until the West coast reduces the bans. 

Due to losing her job at the Maya Theater, Finucane has more time on her hands which is spent playing video games or making more time for family. 

“I’ve been keeping myself entertained with Animal Crossing and starting a new Netflix or Hulu series every day and spending time with my grandma,” she said. 

Before COVID-19 caused state legislation to order a shelter-in-place, Finucane’s grandparents hired someone to help care for them while she was at school two days a week. They decided to continue that service meaning the family has someone to grocery shop for them, allowing everyone to stay as safe as possible and continue to follow Centers for Disease Control recommendations.

Finucane is enrolled in French, English and a philosophy course and admits that “Philosophy and English are easier to keep up with online because it’s more reading based but French is difficult because of how communication based it is.”

She says that taking a language class is more difficult online because it’s harder to learn context and pronunciation when you are not in person. 

Like many others, Finucane says she has been sleeping a lot more than she used to and that she worries for her mental health in the long run. 

“My main goals are to stay social through texting and skype, not eating too much junk food, and staying active whether it be a 30 minute workout or a 10 minute walk,” she said. “I just know I can’t stay in bed all day.”