by Eni Owoeye
This time last year, the NYU community felt a collective shock. For students, the shock may have been a buzz of excitement at the prospect of staying at home because “Zooming” into class actually sounded thrilling. But for most, the shock slowly creeped into a panic as more blue, green, and white masks started to pop up around the City. Whatever the feeling was, we are now grappling with it one year later. The following are a collection of student stories about what they learned about themselves, their connections to others, and their connections to the environment this past year.
Reimagining living spaces: Food, Movement, and Family
Most of us (hopefully) are no longer in a breadless, toilet paperless, bare-pickings-in-supermarkets frenzy. Though at the start of the pandemic, the scarcity of groceries and extended time at some inspired some families to buy less and reduce their waste.
Isabel (CAS, ‘21) decided to take matters into her own hands.
“After all the panic buying madness that happened in the spring, being home in the summer allowed me to keep a garden for the first time in over 10 years. I also learned how to pickle and preserve some produce.” – Isabel (CAS, ’21)
Like Isabel, many found themselves growing and making their own food for the first time. However, for many, especially lower income residents and immigrant communities, urban gardening as a way of maximizing underdeveloped areas in urban spaces is not a new practice.
While a total ‘zero waste’ lifestyle can seem like a herculean task that requires access to resources in a way our current system lacks, Max (Gallatin, ‘22) noticed they were more mindful when grocery shopping. “When I was living at home, me and my family would buy enough food for the week (when before we would go to the grocery store about twice a week). This made us use up everything in the house before buying more, which made less of our food expire.”
On the flip side, Briana (CAS, ‘23) found living in NYC brought her closer to closing the gap in her waste stream. “I shop at a bulk grocery store where I could bring reusable containers to fill them up with dry goods or other household items like laundry detergent, liquid soap, oil, etc.” Living in California with her family during the pandemic and concerns about surface transmission made this task virtually impossible.
Understanding the complexity of the issue, Briana remarks, “I understand that my individual choices will most likely not lead to big change, but it helps me personally deal with the fact that the world is ending because corporations and governments refuse to prioritize the environment.”
Rediscovery: Identity and Nature
For many individuals, this has been a moment for self-discovery. For Krystal (CAS ‘24), before COVID she balanced academics with dance classes 3-4 times a week, volunteering, and other extracurricular activities. The pandemic replaced this routine with silence.
At first, when her local park was closed, Krystal realized just how serious the situation was. While protecting each other is a crucial part of this pandemic, having to do that by separating ourselves from the outside world was another feat entirely.
Once the parks reopened, Krystal was able to see nature in a new light.
“I was immensely grateful to be surrounded by the beauty blooming around me, to lay in the sunshine and breathe the fresh air — although still hindered by a face mask.” – Krystal (CAS, ’24)
Especially in NYC, which left people feeling cooped up, escaping into nature was an important way to reorient the mind. Her appreciation for “the Earth’s natural processes expanded” exponentially during the pandemic because it demonstrated how reliant we are on the natural world.
Lily (CAS, ‘22) was previously set on the pre-med track.This past summer she worked as an aide at a memory care facility for the elderly. “This job was incredibly physically and emotionally exhausting but the one thing that always seemed to make me feel better afterwards was spending time outside. I would come home, change out of my scrubs, and go lay in my backyard.”
Once school resumed in the fall, Zoom fatigue was more pronounced. “My mental health experienced a downward swing and online classes seemed to drain all my enjoyment out of learning,” Lily remarks. One class, however, was a major defense in her fight to stay motivated. “In Fundamentals of Ecology, I felt lit on fire by class discussions and the way my conception of the world was expanding.”
While it was not an easy decision, the experience of the class and the outstanding guidance from Professor Katie Schneider Paolantonio convinced Lily to leave the pre-med track and focus on her Biology major in the context of Ecology.
“In a lot of ways, the pandemic was a wake up call; it’s easy to bemoan all the experiences we’ve lost specifically as college students this year but at least all these restrictions finally pushed me to realize that I didn’t want to lose anything else and that I can at least lift the restrictions I’ve put on myself.” – Lily (CAS, ‘22)
Reforming values: Social Sustainability
The pandemic forced us to reckon with how we as a collective respond and our responsibility to the community came more alive. Once the only places to go remained in the confines of our household, flashy clothing brands or spectacular accessories were no longer compelling identifiers.
“There’s no reason for a new dress or notebooks for me personally, so I’ve been trying to not buy ‘wants’. I wanted to focus on redirecting that money towards mutual aid funds or food banks.” – Angela (CAS, ’21)
Instead, she is looking at efforts towards social sustainability, which encompasses social equity, livability, social responsibility. With the immense losses to our communities, dedicating a little bit of time and resources to improving someone else’s day is profoundly impactful, especially in moments when we have little control on much else.
Even at NYU, certain shifts during the period of remote work and classes are inherently more sustainable, such as reducing printing, cooking more at home, and traveling less.
We can’t expect perfection when embarking on a more sustainable life. Certain activities like online shopping exploded this past year and the resulting carbon footprint and increased packaging left many feeling dissatisfied and yet stuck without better options. And while the response to COVID was collective and the hardships were shared, many of the students I spoke to shared their struggles with maintaining connection.
Ultimately, it’s not the specific practice of gardening, taking nature excursions, or reusing materials that brought us together over the last year. It’s the intent behind these actions that showcase our community’s attempt to make our reality more livable and to do so with pride.