Editor’s note: This is part of a contributed collection of students and faculty experience with COVID-19.

Kira Frederick, a junior in English at Iowa State, said her life has been turned upside down by the pandemic. 

Frederick commonly maintains a GPA over a 3.0, but all of the recent changes in the wake of the virus have made that harder. Frederick said she is struggling, but is OK. She said many of her classes were not meant to be online and several of her professors have almost given up. 

“My creative writing class basically fell off the map, and we’re doing so much less in my other classes,” she said. 

With all of the changes being made, Frederick said her personal schedule is messed up. 

“I wake up anywhere from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the afternoon, then stay up until 3 a.m.,” Frederick said. 

This contrasts her usual schedule of 8 a.m. classes and intermediate study breaks. Frederick said her motivation and inspiration for school has gone down drastically since leaving campus. 

“Sleep is just so tempting,” she said.

Frederick went on a hike after staying home for four days. She said she had the feeling of being trapped.

“I had to do it. I just needed to cleanse my soul,” she said. “It’s just so suffocating, and I’m so ready to just get out.”

Frederick said she is hoping the virus will have run its course by the end of June, but fears it may take longer. 

“I just want to go to school in the fall,” she said.

Frederick said she loved many of her classes and felt she prospered better when in-person classes were available. 

“It’s harder to do well now,” she said. “I just really want things to end.”