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 multiple states announcing both reopening plans and extended shelter-in-place orders, planning for the future has never been more difficult. However, one thing many individuals taking online classes can plan on is finals week.  

Los Medanos College student Shelby Bryant is among the many students across the nation currently prepping for their final exams. This ordinary task is now taking place during extraordinary circumstances as social distancing orders persist and talks of transitions to online courses for the fall semester commands the attention of countless college students.   

With distractions all around, Bryant is among the many having trouble staying focused since the move online. 

“The transition has been a little difficult. I definitely feel like I learned a lot more when we had school in person [classes] versus online,” she said. 

In order to stay motivated and productive, Bryant has created a system to keep herself accountable. “I make a schedule each week for every day of the week of what assignments I want to complete each day with little check boxes next to the assignments that I cross off each week once completed,” Bryant said.

Luckily, there is still a silver lining for this second semester LMC student, “I’ve gotten to spend a lot more time with my family which I didn’t before, between school, volleyball and work,” said Bryant. 

The 18-year-old is also considered an essential worker with her job at In n’ Out in Pleasant Hill. The day-to-day operations have drastically changed since the spread of the virus. 

“We currently only have our drive-through open and have to wear masks and gloves and keeping a social distance from customers. We’re used to lots of people in our dining rooms, but since that’s closed it’s a lot quieter inside,” she said. 

Like many of us, Bryant is pining for the end of quarantine so she can hang out with the friends she’s missing dearly and get back to her version of normal.