Around a couple of weeks ago, I (well, all of us) received a very distressing email from UMBC reporting a hate crime. An unknown male ripped off the hijab of a female Muslim student in Commons. Not even a couple of days after that, we received ANOTHER email about hate crime on campus. Someone was saying racial slurs to another student online while in class/group discussion. IS THIS WHO WE ARE? IS THIS WHAT WE STAND BY??

Winters are tough. Fewer hours of sunlight, the cold weather, and the abundance of everyone getting boo-ed up. It’s safe to say that a lot of people feel lonely during these holiday months and it’s imperative too since you sometimes need someone to keep you warm and keep you company. The holidays are also a time where families get together and rejoice with each other. But, damn, my ass is single AGAIN this year.

As a psych major, studying behavior has in part what I enjoy most about learning psychology and the inner-workings of people’s minds. So, I’ve always been a people person. I find it natural to strike up a conversation with someone and not have it be awkward. I wish that could be a skill to put on my resume. After the pandemic, it has been a little hard to get back to the groove of studying behaviors since my own worst subject was myself and watching me go through hours upon hours of toxic behaviors towards myself was enough. I was lonely. I had missed the connections that I had made and was going to make that first year of being here at UMBC pre-COVID. Once they announced that everyone would come back to campus, I was excited but apprehensive, because after all we are still in a pandemic. But, it’s crazy to say that coming back to campus after a year or so has opened up a new wave of psychological behaviors and subjects to study from.

There is no doubt that many of us have changed after quarantine and as a result of this pandemic. Many of us are overwhelmed, anxious, but some of us might have used the time in quarantine to better themselves. I was not one of those people. If you scrolled on TikTok during the height of the pandemic back in March/April of 2020 you would see glamorized morning routines, cloud coffee videos, exercise routines, etc. But, there are hidden layers to what you might see through your screen.