by Natalie “Lee” Arneson
As the holidays roll around, the distance from our loved ones is being felt more than ever. Across the country, college students have been facing the decision of whether or not they should return home for the holidays. Various articles and news segments have come out with tips for staying safe while returning home, cautioning students against going home, and what should you do if your child does bring home COVID-19 during the holidays. Reaching out to college-age persons in Washington and Oregon, I interviewed them about what keeping in contact looked like for them during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it is affecting (or not affecting) the holiday season for them.
Speaking with Juliana Wold (she/her), a 20 year old Portland native attending OSU, I asked her what communication looked like for her since the pandemic began, and what the holidays were going to be like for her and her family.
“Communication hasn’t been too difficult for me. I am still able to keep in touch with my friends, mainly through Snapchat and Instagram. I do miss talking to people who I’m not as close with, though. We celebrate Christmas. My favorite part is having a meal and being able to spend time with my family. We have decided to alter our holiday celebrations. We are just celebrating with our immediate family so as to avoid mixing households. We are still going to do a gift exchange and make a meal as a household. Then, this summer (as long as we are vaccinated), we are going to do a family meal as a postponed Christmas.”
I next interviewed 25 year old Kailyn Carter (she/her), an Evergreen student currently living in Olympia.
“Communication has been a lot less than before, as I’m not one for phone calls and prefer face-to-face and in person. Now I keep in contact mostly through text but also through Duo since that gives me that face-to-face element. This time of year, I celebrate Christmas with my mom, sister, dad, and brother, as well as my birthday and New Years. We get together and cook a big meal to enjoy on Christmas, for my birthday I answer lots of texts and phone calls from family, and for New Years we just enjoy each other’s company.
Kailyn continued on to share how her immediate family is trying to not let the pandemic keep them from celebrating together, and what their precautionary measures look like.
“This year we’re continuing as normal but we do quarantine in advance before we come together, as well as check our temperatures and look for any symptoms as my mom does have a weakened/compromised immune system and my little sister is only five. So far everything is looking great so I’m happy to see my family all together again, especially my brother whom I haven’t seen in person since around April.”
Finally, I spoke with Bridget Brown (she/they), a 20 year old Evergreen student.
“For me communication isn’t really an issue, I try to always stay in contact with my friends and family via social media. My family and I celebrate Christmas, my favorite activity is telling my mom to turn off Hallmark Christmas movies (I tell her they are all the same but she loves them). My family is pretty close and small so we will most likely have a small get together and Christmas meal on Christmas Day. It’s hard to tell until it gets closer because everything is so up in the air.”
The holiday season is the time to be around those you love, but the pandemic has brought difficulties and decisions we previously didn’t have to face or deal with. Many college students have been debating and worrying over whether or not they should return home—whether or not it will be safe even if they take all the right precautions. At the end of the day, no one can make that decision for them. They have to do what they think is best, and if things don’t go according to plan, it is up to them to face those consequences.
