The Coronapocalypse
Marshall is a “Student Ambassador” at Columbus State Community College. He plans a lot of the student events at Columbus State. He plans to graduate from Columbus State this spring And go to The Ohio State University in the fall with the goal of graduating with a science major. Our whole time in Colorado, Marshall was getting emails about events that he had helped plan be canceled. As we drove back from St Mary's Glacier, Marshall checked his phone.
“Oh my gosh!” he exclaimed, “Ohio State just closed!” August and I looked at him in shock. We all knew if Ohio State was closing, Columbus State would be following soon after. Little did we know, that was only the beginning.
We landed in Cleveland on Thursday, and Marshall's father and sister picked us up. We had a quick lunch, did a bit of shopping and then started the two hour drive back to Columbus.
“Hey Mitchell,” Marshall said when we started the drive, “Before I take you home, would you mind if we stopped at Columbus State? I left my violin and a few other things in the office.”
“No problem!” I replied.
When we were about 45 minutes outside the city, mom texted me. She told me that all of the schools in the state were closed, effective the following Monday, for (at least) 3 weeks. This presented a problem for me. As many of you know, I work at a school for kids on the spectrum. I don't write about my job there, but only for the privacy of the children. I love working with the kids and really like my coworkers. I was kind of mad that they were closing (even though I understood the reasoning).
One of my earliest posts on this blog was about the giant Christopher Columbus statue on the Columbus State campus. It was about how he pointed me in the direction of my bus home one day when I was lost. When Marshall and I got on campus, it was completely empty. It was the creepiest thing because there are usually so many people there… It just felt wrong. Even the Christopher Columbus statue seemed like less of a guiding force and more like a commanding officer, telling me where to go and more importantly, telling me to stay there.
When we left the campus, Marshall started to vent about why he was frustrated about this situation. Not going to lie I was frustrated too, but I wasn't going to tell him that. Not because I didn't want to or I don't trust him, but because one of us had to be the voice of reason…You know the world's ending when I'm the voice of reason.
He dropped me off at home, we hugged, and I watched him drive away. As he drove off, I got really sad. I don't know when I'm going to see him again. Or when I'm going to see my “sisters”, or my Haugland coworkers. No idea when I'm going to see anyone from Sam's Fans, or Cousin Simple again. And guys, I'm really angry about this one, I'm going to miss my aunt's wedding in Florida.
The only thing getting me through this is the hope that this will pass. I don't know when, but I have enough faith to know that we're going to get through this. We are not alone, and as long as we are not alone, we will survive this. I pray that everyone reading this stays healthy, and happy during these trying times. I am going to continue with my blog and podcast, but until we meet in person again, know that I love you all.
Have a Greattastic day, and be safe!
J. Mitchie Ulibarri
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