The journey I’ve been on with all you guys has been amazing. Listening to all these different stories and learning that we are not alone in any aspect of this struggle is something that should be appreciated greatly. My next guest was Gabe Pruss. When he joined the call, I could immediately tell he was not in a home environment. I could see random tools littered around him, as well as an old wooden work bench not too far from where he was sitting. Smiling he said, “Don’t worry it’s just my workout space, A.K.A the garage.” He turned the camera of his phone around and panned over his surroundings, and the picture became clearer for me. I could see a makeshift bench press rack, it had two milk jugs with a few barbells attached to a long wooden stick. I could not make out the other equipment he had set up and not one word of my actual interview had been spoken yet; regardless the message was loud and clear for me. Things were ripped away quickly from him, including his ability to exercise, so he acted quickly and made something happen.
Just like everyone else, the last few weeks of his life had been a whirlwind. In a matter of seconds, he was packed for spring break and before he could blink he was packed and headed home for good. Moving out was a bad day, looking around his room he could see the remnants of the memories he had made. “Packing brought back a flood of the things I had experienced, with some of the people I’d grown to love.” He was now leaving all of that behind, not being able to turn a page in his own book because it had been abruptly ripped out. He believed that people would take the cautious side and send students home, but even when expecting it, it still left a burn that he still couldn’t quite explain. Now back at home with his parents, he had to adjust to a new life once again. “My dad won’t really let us go outside right now,” He explained. “It sucks for my mom because she is a really talkative person, so her having limited interaction with people makes her upset.” I could tell by listening to him talk that he had been wanting to speak his own thoughts about his situation out loud. “My dad is pretty chill and likes to relax anyway and is like, ‘Why do we need to go on a walk for the third time today?’ when we all know she is hoping there will be people outside for her to talk to.” Both us had a good laugh after he said that. His life wasn’t easy going at the moment with school work and also being trapped within the walls of his home but he was finding joy in the little things. One of those little things was working with his dad to create a gym for himself. It took them a while to figure out but now they make it a daily routine to go in the garage and help Gabe workout. It created something for them to connect with after boredom had struck and they had been stuck in the house. That part of being home was fun but there were also obstacles as well. Something that Gabe had been struggling with over this last few weeks was the online classes. He fidgeted a little at his bench in the garage, “I am very unmotivated and unstructured here. It feels like summer break because I can do all the things I enjoy at home,” He said. “It took me a while to become productive because there were so many other things I wanted to do here.” Many people can relate to what he was saying, myself included. It can become very easy to be distracted when at home. For Gabe he also missed the structure that came with actually being inside a classroom. Most of his classes are pre recorded lectures so it’s up to him to focus on his tasks, and it proves to be difficult at times. The face to face interaction allowed for him to stay locked into what he was learning. Finding times and spaces to get work done was also difficult. He tried the kitchen, the garage, his bedroom, and even outside but without that face to face interaction it was hard to even get on a set schedule. He eventually figured himself out and what worked best for his education. It took a little bit of experimentation but he didn’t shut down, he persevered and got through it. Unlike most people I’ve talked to, he didn’t say he misses the people the most. “I miss being in the classroom where the only thing there actually was to do was pay attention.” It was a powerful statement when he said it because up to that point even with all the perspectives I heard, it was an original point of view. The classroom gave even a responsible adult in college, structure. That fact cannot be ignored. “I hope everyone just follows the safety guidelines as much as possible so we can get back to normal.”
Taking action is a theme that can be applied to every aspect of life. Gabe was missing out on his exercise, he took action, he was struggling in school and took the initiative to improve his education. What are you doing in your life right now to improve during times like these? Talking with Gabe was brilliant, he brought up good points and offered his own original perspective. I want to thank him for allowing me to pick his brain. I had a lot of fun writing these stories, listening to things fellow students have been dealing with on a personal level connected me to these people even further. It should do the same for you reading these as well. There’s a misconception that you must help other people to make the biggest change; while it is true, before you can branch out and extend a hand you must make improvement in your own life. Words cannot describe how much I appreciate them taking time out of their day to share their experiences. I think we all can draw something from these stories no matter where you are in your journey through COVID, let me know if you agree.
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