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.

With only two more weeks of class remaining, the motivation to finish out the semester strong is becoming harder for some Los Medanos College students because of the switch to online instruction. Among these students is Melan George, who is trying to finish her first year of college. 

“We’re almost done with the school year and I’m still trying my best to finish out the year strong. It’s been very difficult to find motivation to get work done,” said George. “I thought I would get the hang of the online classes, but being online makes me more frustrated because it’s extremely hard to stay focused.”

George said her routine has significantly changed since the switch to online classes because she feels that she is receiving more work to do online than when her classes were face-to-face.  

“It feels like I’m doing homework all the time,” said George. “I’m struggling to find free time for myself. Before this pandemic, I used to love to paint on the weekends, but now it seems my weekends are consumed by doing work.”

Even with all the classwork George has been getting, she has been trying to balance her stress by keeping herself entertained. 

“I spent one weekend outside in my backyard painting to try to take my mind off of all the load of work I had to do and that really helped because it was so relaxing,” said George. “I’ve [also] been trying to binge-watch shows on Hulu.” 

George is majoring in child development and plans to become a teacher in the future, so she’s observed how her professors have been adapting to online learning.

“It’s weird seeing how everything is being played out,” she said. “I’ve been seeing all the professors switch to online teaching and have to adapt to the method so quickly and hearing stories from my professors about how difficult the change is.” 

Since becoming a teacher is her ambition, she had never realized that something like this pandemic could come along and “your entire routine can be changed in a blink of an eye,” she said. “It’s something that I’ll have to take into consideration about this career.”