Locker Box Sports

Coronavirus has been around since March, and it seems like it has been here for a lot longer. Millions have been affected and over 200 thousand Americans have tragically lost their lives.

Each state has handled this virus differently within the United States, some being careful and shutting down certain places, and some not caring as much and operating like life is normal. Here, in the Tri-State area, they are treating this pandemic with caution. It seems that everything is shut down and there is not much to do, especially since there is now a new curfew time of 10:00 p.m. eastern time in most states on the East Coast.

Many college students across the world don’t seem to care much about this pandemic and are often seen still partying, going to clubs, and going out to bars like it is no big deal. For some, they live by the motto uttered on a newscast back in March, “if I get corona, I get corona, I just want to party.”

For other students, they treat this pandemic much differently, and more safely. This is the side of college students that is never seen or talked about. Some students are taking the necessary precaution and living their lives in a safe demeanor. Some students are even trying to find a silver lining to this pandemic.

“My senior year has not been what I had hoped for, but I am just lucky I have a senior year,” said Marist College student John Powers. “I had a lot of my friends in the class above us, and watching them get their senior year ripped away from them and not even have a graduation was tough.”

Powers, a junior at the time of when Covid-19 struck, feels this year has gone a lot slower to years past. Like the rest of us, he was stuck in quarantine for a long time starting in March, but unlike the rest of us, he found a way to make it “not so horrible.”

“The first few weeks of quarantine were tough because I did not know what to expect. Was I going to be in quarantine for awhile? Was I going to get to go back to school? I just didn’t know what to make of it,” Powers said. “I then realized about three weeks in I was in it for the long haul, so I decided to make some major changes.”

Some of these major changes included a new schedule for himself. Powers wanted to get back into exercising every day, and wanted to make improvements on his grades. He knew he had what it took, it just needed some execution and time.

A previous track runner in high school, Powers decided to incorporate his previous rigorous running and lifting schedule. He decided to go for runs early in the morning, usually around 8:30, and he aimed to run three miles when he first began — this was half the miles he would run daily in high school. Following his run, he would take a breather, enjoy a nice healthy breakfast, and then start his lift around 11:00 in the morning.

Following his lift, he would take a shower and get underway with his school work, that was now all online.

“The transition to online school was weird at first,” Powers said. “After a few weeks though, I realized I needed to do a lot of things on my own, and if I jumped out ahead of my work early in the week, I could spend more time with my family on the weekends.”

This was something else included in his schedule; family time.

Powers holds his family in high regards and realized that he wanted to spend more time with them, since they were all quarantined together for the unforeseeable future. While always being away at school, and spending more times with friends over the summer, Powers felt he had neglected his family the past few years, and included the simple sentence, “family time,” into his schedule.

“This pandemic has taught me a lot of things, but the most valuable lesson I have learned from it is the importance of family,” Powers said. “I am lucky to have a support group as good as my parents and family, and I realized that I need to show them how much I truly care for them.”

As time continued to move forward, Powers’ schedule continued to increase. His usual three mile morning run became a six or seven mile run. His usual one hour lift following the run became a two hour lift. Finally, his usual one hour a day of work turned into two to three hours a day, allowing him even more free time on the weekends to play family games of Uno and Monopoly.

“I realized as time went on and as I continued to follow my schedule, everything got easier, and I built up a stamina and tolerance,” Powers said. “It wasn’t always the easiest, and I took some days off, but I am really proud of what I accomplished during the quarantine.”

Powers returned to school in August for his senior year, but his time at home was “needed and worth it.” He came back to Poughkeepsie 20 pounds lighter, with more muscle on his bones, and with the best GPA in his college career.

“Since coming back in August, more things have opened up and I have began going to the gym again,” Powers said. “To be brutally honest, I have slacked on my new schedule a bit, but I try to stay on top of everything, and so far, that’s working.”

As the semester winds down and Powers is in the midst of finals, he is happy with the progress he has made. He is the same weight as in August, lifting on more regular basis, and has grades that even shocked him.

The pandemic to most was taken with a negative attitude, but not for Powers. He decided to put his head down and change his life for the better in a short five month span — March to August.

“This is probably the best I have ever felt in my life,” Powers said. “I am grateful for my mindset going into this pandemic, it changed me for the better, but I am really ready for this vaccine.”