Patrick's TCU Blog

Around a week a half ago, my family had reached the level of quarantine boredom where we started looking through old family pictures and videos. While doing that, my family and I stumbled upon an old video recorded by my doorbell camera that was saved. I had completely forgotten about this but once I watched it I remebered the story entirely and everyone around me broke out into laughter. To explain the story simply, I was in early highscool and was about to leave with a friend and my mother to go to a soccer game. We walked out the front door to walk to my mom's car and my mom went first. Our front porch was entirely frozen over with black ice so my mom slipped and fell. She was not injured but at the time I didn't know that. Like any good son, I yelled "mom" and ran towards her to see if she was okay without thinking. I also fell, brusing my tailbone. My friend who was behind me can clearly be heard saying, "yeah, I think I'm gonna walk around." At t...

This is not the semester I expected, nor wanted. I think that is a pretty common sentiment amongst all college students across the country. Luckily, the semester is almost over, and it seems like things are looking bright in the future. Texas is planning to ease restrictions, and hopefully this is the right decision and things get better in the future. Although this semester was not ideal, it was not all bad. I still had many good memories during my time on campus. On top of that, it was clear to see the effort all my teachers were/are making to make things easier on people. Many of my requirements for classes were eased and teachers were making every effort to be accommodating and reasonable. I'm thankful for this because, as I talked about previously in my posts, it's difficult for me to focus and organize myself when I have nothing to do. Ironically, when I'm not busy I find myself forgetting things, whereas when I'm busy I am much sharper. It's looking like ma...

A few days ago I decided to return to Fort Worth and do my self-isolation at my house off campus. Yesterday I was sitting on a hammock with a few of my friends who were sitting on different hammocks (6 feet apart). We were all just sitting there talking and then I saw a black and white stray cat start walking towards our group. I didn't say anything and watched the cat slowly approach us. The cat walked directly behind my friend Julia and when it got close it rubbed itself against her legs that were hanging over the side. Logically, she freaked out and flipped off her hammock. That made us all start to laugh. We broke into wild laughter when the cat decided to, while Julia is laying on the ground, jump on onto her hammock and lay down and close its eyes. We all found it hilarious how it seemed like the cat basically scared Julia out of her seat and took it for itself.

I never imagined that my semester would be interrupted and I would be forced to come home. From having to switch to online classes to missing my friends and our planned social events, the whole experience has been frustrating. Although the P/NC's will undoubtedly increase my GPA, the marginal increase is not worth it. People always tell you college is the most fun of your life, and I can't help but feel cheated out of part of it.  I enjoyed being home at first, but now I'm tired of it. Being back home makes me feel like I'm back in high school with my freedom taken away. On top of that, fights with family are inevitable when we're all trapped in the same house for what seems like ages now. On a positive note, I am still a junior, so I have another year. I can't even imagine how frustrated seniors must be with this whole thing. I think TCU's reponse has been positive and I hope this whole thing blows over soon. I want, like many others, a return to norma...

Overall, I've found the switch to online classes to be a difficult one. I have no problems with Zoom as a platform and I think my teachers are making their best effort, but ultimately, it is not the same. Like many other students, I find it difficult to pay attention in an online class. The format feels choppy and I find that I zone in and out easily, in addition to that, I spend half the time seeing what I look like in the webcam picture. It is difficult to focus also because of distractions like phones. I've tried to start turning off my cellphone during classes to fight the temptation to look at it.  On top of it being more difficult to focus/engage in an online class, its also harder to prepare for tests while being away from school. Some of my classes, such as accounting, are almost impossible to learn virtually, and even the ones where you can learn virtually, its harder to learn away from TCU. At TCU we have resources like the library, and your surrounded by other stud...

1) Laugh at the coronavirus. *Yes this is a serious topic, and it should absolutely be treated as one. People should strictly adhere to CDC guidelines and do their part in flattening the curve. That being said, laughing at something can help make it easier to deal with, and gives one control. One shouldn't let this pandemic take more then it already has, and that includes a sense of humor. 2) Laugh at yourself. *Don't take yourself to seriously, these are hard times, but as the old adage goes, "this too shall pass". 3) Laugh at your pets *As I write this my brothers 85lb black lab is trying to sit on my laugh, unaware that he is no longer a puppy 4) Use your time to catch up on TV shows, or watch movies you've wanted to for awhile *If you're like me, you've spent most your isolation watching an absurd amount of TV, for me it helps me laugh and think about different things. 5) TikTok *For those who have TikTok, this needs no explanation. ...