Photo credit: “DVD” by Astrangegirl from Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
It’s there. I look to my right, and it’s always in sight. What is this you may ask? Well, it’s simple. It’s a DVD. Now why would a movie have anything to do with where I am right now?
Let’s go back to this past spring 2020. It was the week before spring break, and as I left my last day in French class, we had the choice of what movies to watch for our upcoming assignment. When offered to borrow a few DVDs from our professor, I chose one laying on the table. I was excited — I had the movie and was now ready to bring it home to watch over spring break.
But this was one spring break I’ll never forget. My peers and I all got the news at the same time. I remember it so clearly. Just as I was proofing a final essay and sitting in my home living room, my phone wouldn’t stop going off. I wasn’t expecting news — or any news for that matter. My friends had started texting, and I checked my email to see what was occurring. WCU had made the early call to switch the remainder of the spring semester to remote instruction.
I think we all remember this moment so clearly. It’s one that is now embedded in our college careers and one that we’ll never forget. It’s definitely one that has made a dent.
Well, we’re now heading into our second fully-remote semester, and I recently began thinking back to this moment that we all remember oh-so-clearly.
I saw the DVD again. That DVD. The movie I borrowed from my French professor. The one that’s still sitting in my room. The one I have yet to return to my professor’s on-campus office.
This DVD has become more than just a DVD. It’s become a glimmer of home in all this uncertainty. It’s the reminder that we have yet to return to normalcy or simply to campus for that matter.
As I sit in my home bedroom writing this, I turn to my right and see this DVD. I will from now on think about the moment I get to return it to my French professor’s office and to when I can again, and sometime soon, step back on WCU’s campus.
Sophie Koval is a third-year student majoring in English writings and BALC French with Teacher Certification with a minor in linguistics. SK907824@wcupa.edu