Why do you wear a mask?

Not really any interesting reason other than just public safety and concern for others and oneself.

What has the adjustment to new classes and a whole new school culture been like online?

It’s difficult, it’s definitely difficult. Teaching is particularly hard, because so much of teaching is about the connection that you have with your students. There are just small things you don’t even think about, like eye contact around the room, or the general vibe. Normally I’d be telling jokes and things like that, but it is harder to do online. But, the University has been pretty supportive and, of course, my colleagues in English have been great about reaching out. Once I get [to campus] I will be able to go on walks with them, which is good. I work directly a lot with Sarah Rivett in English through Indigenous initiatives, along with Sophie Gee. They are the people that I knew a little bit before I even started at Princeton, and they have been great.

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year? Have you redefined any of your values?

Well, I’ve learned that my attention span is a lot shorter than it used to be because of all the screen time. I’ve definitely learned that I spend a lot of time on my devices, more than I wanted to, but with that I’ve learned to appreciate time outside. And I’d say I’ve learned that I’m adaptable, in the sense of being able to do all this stuff online. I’ve learned things through absence as well, like how deeply social I am. I miss seeing people and being around friends and family. So it’s all been a bit of a lesson in the social being.

If you could give your pre-COVID-19 self one piece of advice, what would it be?

To develop a really interesting and time-consuming hobby. I lack the attention span to do it now. I mean, I have bought a lot of books. Obviously I am a literature professor, but I bought so many books, so I have lots to get through. But, I haven’t really found the will to get through all of them (or any of them really, besides the ones I teach).

What is your favorite book that you have read recently?

This is gonna sound like it was for work, but it wasn’t. It’s an 800-page book about 18th century London. Even though I am an 18th century-ist, honestly it was just pure interest, and it was so compelling to see all the different textures and layers of history. It’s called a “Great and Monstrous Thing: London in the 18th Century.” I am also reading a book of poetry by Maria Rilke called “Duino Elegies.”

What do you find to be the most socially uncomfortable or socially awkward part about wearing a mask?

I get the impression that things are a little different here [in London] than in some parts of America. Most people here will only wear masks when they go into stores, so there is always that awkward moment if someone in a coffee shop or something isn’t wearing one, which is a strange kind of interaction. But when you see friends, you can take [the masks] off as long as you are socially distanced outside, so you can see their faces. But with the masks, a lot of people find it hard to understand me specifically.

When you think about this past year, what or who has kept you grounded?

My partner. We are both here working from home, so having that routine where both of us have to work is kind of a challenge because neither of us have an office obviously. Having her around has helped. If I was completely on my own, I think I would have probably gone stir-crazy. Also, living in London is nice, even though nothing is open. It is a city with an infinite variety, and I like walking or cycling into Central London and just looking at the layers of history. So being in a big city like this keeps me grounded.

What do you hate most about Zoom? What is your favorite Zoom feature?

It’s good for some things. For example, I am “at” a conference this weekend, and a lot of people probably wouldn’t be able to be there in-person during a normal year, but they can join via Zoom. For academic purposes, you can bring in speakers from all over the world who wouldn’t usually be able to come. But initially, it was the vibe of real conversation with a group of students that was lost. You just can’t reproduce that. And the Internet isn’t very good with inequality of access, so I don’t like that very much at all. Also, my computer processor is such that I can’t have a virtual background, and I am very jealous of people that do. But, I’ve lived away from my family for a really long time, so in the past we have primarily done phone calls, but now that Zoom is so normalized, we will have these massive family zooms, which brings its own challenges, but is good.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would just like to say that I am really looking forward to some kind of a return to normalcy. It may not be totally normal at the beginning, but I hope with time it will be. One of the things I am engaging with at Princeton is the Indigenous Studies Program, and I am really looking forward to building on that with students and faculty. Everyone there has been really welcoming and very enthusiastic to do a lot of work, especially students. I have been really impressed with students that I’ve met that have seemed to be handling things so well, at least on the surface, in terms of showing up, doing things, having conversations. It’s impressive.

Why do you wear a mask?

I have been wearing a mask because I get very paranoid that I will make other people sick. Even since I’ve been vaccinated, I still have been very wary, because I would live in endless guilt if I got one of my friends sick.

What brought you to Princeton?

[Princeton] was never my dream school, but when I was thinking about schools, it was the one that made sense, because it felt like a place where people cared about school. It wasn’t the excuse to do all the sports and the clubs and the partying. I visited some friends, and I was like, this is the place. And so I applied, I got in. And I was like, yep, I’m coming here.

What were you known for in high school?

I was known for being the person who does everything. I was also one of the two White twins, which was fun for me as an identical twin. We were kind of the smart ones, but it was fun.

If you could give your pre-COVID-19 self one piece of advice, what would it be?

It’s corny, but don’t take things for granted, especially just small interactions with friends and family, like brushing your teeth with your roommate or going to get dinner with someone. I missed that the most this past year because you can do more scheduled talks like getting coffee with someone, but the small organic [moments] are the biggest thing that I missed.

Have you picked up any sort of hobby, skill, or routine during the pandemic?

Yes. I taught myself how to play one song on the piano. But, I spent like three months doing it. I’m vaguely musical, but I’d never actually played piano before. So I taught myself how to play it out of pure muscle memory. It’s Gravity by Sara Bareilles, the queen herself. If I don’t play it for like three months, I can still play it because it is just ingrained in my fingers. I’m very proud of that.

If you were writing a chapter of a history textbook about 2020, what subheadings would you create? Why?

When shit hit the pan-demic. It’s a pun, it must be a pun. That is all.

When you think about this past year, what or who has kept you grounded?

My roommates in various iterations: my family at the beginning, and my roommates in Philly in the fall, and my roommates this semester. They have kept me alive and sane with human interaction, but also support and love.

What do you hate most about Zoom? What is your favorite Zoom feature?

One thing I hate about Zoom is that because people keep themselves muted, when you make a joke, it doesn’t land as well. But, I think that flips a little bit to one of my favourite things about Zoom, which is the super over-the-top reactions that you give to people’s stories, which I would never do in-person, but I want to get their attention and give them praise. That’s a little bit of a silver lining.

What is your favorite film or television series you’ve watched over the past year? What is your all time favorite?

My favourite TV series that I watched over quarantine is Avatar: The Last Airbender. I had never seen it, which I felt like a bad person for not doing. My favourite movie of all time is Disney’s Hercules. I watched it again recently and it is just a peak film. The music is amazing. The voice cast is amazing. The story is funny and also touching and it has some of the best characters that Disney has ever made.

What are your hopes and dreams for after college?

I will not give you a concrete answer, because I don’t have anything concrete that I want to do. I want to keep in touch with my Princeton friends in a way that’s not all the time, but I want to be in their lives and I want to keep them in mine.

If a tourist asked you for your top recommendation for something to do in the town of Princeton, what would you recommend?

Part of me wants to say get super drunk in Thai Village, because I think it is a seminal experience of Princeton. But, a more wholesome answer would be to walk from Nassau Hall down to Wawa and get something from Wawa, because that is the actual Princeton experience that everyone has shared.

Why do you wear a mask?

I wear a mask because I want to keep myself safe, and others safe, and I want to be a part of ending this really tragic and disastrous pandemic. Honestly, I’m still getting to learn more about the ethics of wearing a mask in the midst of a pandemic, in the context of communicable diseases. I’ve been trying to apply my own background in sexual reproductive health and the ethics of condom use and health behavior to the situation, even though, obviously, it has its share of differences. I’m actually still thinking about it myself! But, basically, I wear it to protect myself and others.

In the past year, have you learned anything about yourself? Have you redefined any of your values, as a result of the pandemic or otherwise?

That’s a good question! I’ve learned that I’m far more comfortable spending time alone than I thought I ever would be. I live alone in Lakeside [graduate apartment housing]. My partner, who is also in the SPIA program, lives in Lakeside, but not with me, so I spend most of my time alone. I’ve really enjoyed it! I don’t enjoy the circumstances that have brought me to this situation, but it has been interesting to see myself function alone most of the time. I’m from D.C., and I moved to New York City after graduating from high school, and I had lived there until right before I came to this program in the fall of 2019. I imagined myself very much as a city girl, as someone who really likes to socialize in a very particular way. I knew, regardless of COVID, that I would not find that kind of socializing here in Princeton. I didn’t expect this to happen — for my socializing, even at places like Ivy Inn — to be curtailed as well! For me to find peace, to find different ways of interacting with people to this extent, has been interesting for me.

As I was saying earlier, I’ve been trying to apply my own sense of ethics and justice, in combination with my knowledge about health policy, ethics, and stigma around communicable diseases, to how I answer my own questions about people’s actions in this time. I’ve been trying to reject binaries of who is a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ person based upon what they do in this moment, and trying to navigate the unique interpersonal dynamic brought on by the pandemic has been something that I’m still working on and learning about personally.

What do you hate most about Zoom? What is your favorite Zoom feature?

Honestly, I’ve kind of thrived on Zoom. I love that I can turn my camera off, and I think it has actually been helpful in certain classes where I don’t feel super engaged, or where I feel engaged in a different way. I can just turn my camera off, do things around my space, and treat that class almost like a podcast. That way, I end up internalizing it better than if I were sitting there, watching other people’s faces, or even my own face. That’s been a cool option to have. I was chronically late back in the in-person days, due to transit, and running around campus — to be able to wake up from a nap and be like, “I’m here” has been nice. I don’t know a lot of disadvantages to Zoom, honestly! I think I’ve been pretty ok with it.

If you could give your pre-COVID-19 self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Honestly, I feel like I was living very fully and intensely before COVID. That usual advice that people might tell themselves, about hanging out with your friends more, or saying yes to more plans — I feel like I was already doing a lot of that. Maybe, I would tell myself to try to practice slowing down, even when I didn’t have to. Like I’ve said, I’ve found some benefits to doing that. Well, I don’t want to call them ‘benefits,’ because I don’t want to say that this period was beneficial to my personal growth at the enormous cost that this pandemic has taken. Still, it might have been important for me to practice living more slowly and more privately even when I wasn’t being forced to.

Why do you wear a mask?

Because I believe in science, and I want to survive this. I wear my mask because I’m an honorary member of the Class of 1968 and I plan to go to every reunion. I’d like to survive and do that.

What is your connection to the town of Princeton?

I moved here with my family 14 years ago because my husband got a job opportunity. His opportunities before had been global, so when the company told us, “Hey, you’re going to be in New Jersey,” I wasn’t too excited about that. I said, “Oh, god, I can’t Baby, I can’t do it.” Then I spent a long weekend in Princeton. I had been around the world a little bit, and I would explore the area we were in, and then I’d kind of introduced my husband to those towns, after his project was done. So when I came here for a long weekend, I thought, “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I’ve got world class theater [here in Princeton]. I [have] a train to a more world class theater [in New York City], I’m across the street from every form of architecture, the best of its kind for my long walks in the morning. I’ve got cafes.” To me, Princeton is as close as you can get to being in a European town without having to live in Europe. And so we just wedged in here, and, and I fell in love with it.

Why did you start Princeton Tour Company?

I don’t have a car because you really don’t need one if you live in the heart of downtown. I started going on these walks, and I was like, “Oh, my god that’s Paul Muldoon and in his electric car before they were chic, small world.” Cornel West started calling me, “sister Mimi,” and it was over. I mean, I was just like, desperately in love. Then all the other corporate housewives moved to Bucks County for the taxes, and we stayed really good friends, but they would come into Princeton and I would brag. I would say, “No, no, we got to go here because I know we’re gonna see so and so here.” They thought it was darlin’ but after a while it got old and one of my dearest friends just said, “Look, you should do something with it,” so I started Princeton Tour Company. It started out as bike tours and now we’ve morphed into walking and trolley tours, and of course you’ve got to give people a good ghost tour, and now [Princeton Tour Company] a real thing. So I guess I’m a little bit of everything. I’m a resident, and I’m a small business owner. But most of all, I’m just a wild fan of the town and the gown.

What is your connection to Princeton University?

I’m actually an honorary class member. I planned the 50th reunion for the Great Class of 1968. It was the last class that was all male, so I’m one of two females in their class. The other female when I was inducted was Shirley Tilghman. I’m sure the ex-president was thrilled to know the crazy tour lady was also among her classmates. I’m 55 years old, and the class is ’68. They’re a teeny bit older. When you’re an honorary classmate, the only thing you really get to do is go to reunions. When I walk in the parade, literally, I have everybody on the sidelines saying, “Wow, do you look great!” the whole time. I just yell “hydrate, y’all!” I finally get reunions. I get why they all come back — because it really does feel like you are famous and adored.

What has running a small business during the pandemic been like?

For my small business in particular, we’ve operated much differently than other small tour operators that I’m friends with in other towns. We’re the only private tour company in Princeton. Throughout the country, 75 percent of similar businesses to mine have gone under because they were so small and they paid a lot of rent. I run my small business out of my home, I don’t have rent, so my fixed costs were already reasonable. What I learned, though, is that in an effort to just be careful, it was a smart way to plan for a crisis like this. We haven’t given tours since January of last year, we normally shut down January, to Pi Day, or really April 1. When the University said, “we’re not doing reunions, we’re not doing commencement,” I’ve lived here long enough to know that they aren’t dumb. If they’re shutting down this early, then I knew that this was going to be a long haul. So, we shut down, because we aren’t giving tours until Princeton gives tours again. It’s Princeton’s legacy of impact, when they shut down we said “hey, we’re shutting down.” We are adamant we will stay shut down until the University is welcoming groups back on campus.

Have you picked up any sort of hobbies during the pandemic?

Before coronavirus, my husband probably traveled probably 60-70 percent of the time for his job. Well, he’s not traveling anymore. For us, it’s been a lot of fun because I’ve been able to adopt some of my husband’s hobbies. He’s contemplating starting a YouTube channel called The Man of a Million Hobbies. He’s a metal detector, a mushroom forager, an arrowhead detector, and we’re now taking up caning chairs. So really, I’ve taken up whatever interests him. He’s a guy that plays well alone, so he would do all this crap on weekends when I was out on tours. Now I’m stuck with this guy, he’s like, “Do you want to go on a mushroom walk with me?”

If you were writing a chapter of a history textbook about 2020, what subheadings would you create?

My subheader would be, “COVID was a really hard year. It made me really grateful for community.”

What television have you watched over the past year?

When Tiger King came out — you know, I’m an early adopter of all things wacko — I watched, and then I texted all my Tiger friends who were supposed to graduate. I was like, “If you don’t make this your costume for reunions, I’ll be disappointed.”

What do you hate most about Zoom?

Well, of course I hate looking down and not recognizing the girl in the screen. Wow I hate that girl … oh wait, that’s me. I think for people my age, we don’t do FaceTime for a reason. I’m not on Zoom as much as everyone else so I think my relationship with Zoom is friendlier. The truth is, I don’t hate Zoom. If anything, Zoom is a game changer for local politics here. Now, you can Zoom in and listen. It’s a lot more engagement without forcing yourself to be on site. That’s going to be a gift for our local politics because let me tell you, the best theater in Princeton is the local council meetings.

What is your favorite Zoom feature?

I want to learn how to do those virtual backgrounds!

If a tourist asked you for your top recommendation for something to do in the town of Princeton, what would you recommend?

First you’ve got to go to the Little Chef Pastry Shop and grab any croissant that’s left. [The chef has] won best croissant in America four times, nobody knows about him. He’s Haitian, he’s trained in France, and he only bakes enough croissants that he wants to sell in a day. Then, I’d walk over to Small World, sit down with my coffee, and people-watch like a crazy person. Then, I’d probably go to the bricks on Palmer Square. Someone from the Johnson family and someone from the Scheide family, they were like, “we’ve got to put the names of all the famous people that were here!” If you walk those bricks on Palmer Square, with your Bent Spoon ice cream, you could probably create your own tour company. Do those three things first, because then you could get a sense of where you’re at. You’ve got to go to the Princeton record exchange, you’ve got to go to the cemetery. I’d walk campus; I’d take the virtual tour of your outdoor sculpture garden; take the historical society tour; take an Orange Key tour. Don’t limit yourself to four hours! You need to stay overnight! You need to spend the first day figuring out why it’s so cool and the second day getting to know all the locals.

What do you miss most about your life before the coronavirus? What is the first thing you’ll do when the world returns to somewhat-normal?

I want to do all the things I took for granted before. I am going to be so flipping everywhere all the time! I’m a little nervous I’m going to be too touchy! I think I’ll be a lot more obnoxious about displays of affection. The PDA is going to be off the charts and I’m all for it!

What are your hopes and dreams for the future? What do you look forward to post-COVID-19?

Here’s what I’m excited about post COVID-19. The entire world has a shared experience — finally. We all have something to connect about, and that gets conversations started. We share something now, as humanity. I think it’s going to change us for the better. It can be thing we talk about that immediately puts you in that very vulnerable place, that makes you close.

Why do you wear a mask?

It really wasn’t about me, it was about making sure everyone else was safe. I lived with my parents and they’re both older, so I was making sure that they’re always healthy. When you walk around, you don’t know who has what underlying condition, you don’t know how getting COVID might affect them. I’ve hated the mask from day one, but I’ve always worn them. I think that’s the general thing that we hoped most people would have realized, especially people in our age group. It was never about us, it was about the people who would be susceptible to COVID, and just making sure that we’re doing our job for a greater community. I wore masks because I didn’t want to be the one responsible for someone else getting sick and then having whatever other unfortunate circumstances might occur from that.

If you could give your pre-pandemic self one piece of advice, what would it be?

I would say do everything that you can to get as much out of Princeton because it is such a unique and a fun place to be, and I don’t think many of us really take full advantage the way that we should. I think most of our best experiences and where we grow the most comes from outside the classroom. So I would just tell myself to go to that sports game, go to that dance show, go to that acapella concert. Just do anything that you normally wouldn’t see yourself doing to put yourself out there and get the most out of the environment.

What made you decide to start your podcast, “Go With the Flo”? What have you learned while creating it?

It’s something that people have always told me, “Oh, you just have the most random, funny conversations, you should start a podcast, you would be really good at this.” But for some reason, I never actually decided to press play. Then it was the last week of January, and I was sitting in my Spelman dorm with one of my roommates, and one of my best friends, Jailany. He’s someone who really motivates you to do whatever it is that you’re trying to do, and the conversation just came up somehow. I [said], “Oh, yeah, I really want to start a podcast like, I don’t know if people will listen, should I really do it?” And he [said], “What’s stopping you from giving it a shot?” And I just thought, there really is nothing stopping me. Then literally the next day, we recorded the first episode. And that’s how it started.

Honestly, I’ve learned a lot from doing it. My first three episodes were three of my best friends as a way to get comfortable doing it before I then branched out a little bit more. Even in those conversations with some of my best friends, I’ll learn stuff about them that I’ve never known about them before. So, it was cool to just talk to them in that sort of setting. It’s really helped me to get better conversationally and get better at asking questions, and even interviewing people. It’s nice to be better at holding conversations and know that whoever you run into, you could just have a good long conversation with them and actually get something that’s substantial out of it.

What have been your fondest memories at Princeton so far?

The dodgeball tournament, which was randomly one of the most fun things that I’ve done at Princeton. It was my freshman year in the spring, and I’d gone to a dance show with one of my friends. We got out around 10 o’clock. I knew that the dodgeball tournament was going on, but I thought, “It’s college. I’m not going to go play dodgeball. That’s so stupid.” I’m on the club soccer team, and we had a team in the tournament, and they’ve been asking people who wanted to play. I remember we got out of the dance show, and I’d seen the group text. They [said], “Oh, we need a few more numbers.” And I [thought], “I don’t have that much homework to do. I might as well just show up to Dillon gym.” So I get there, and the gym is just packed. There’s so many people having a good time. I was dressed in jeans and a jacket — I wasn’t dressed to play dodgeball, but I was like, okay, this actually seems kind of fun. I put one of the pinnies on and I played the first game. And from there, I was sold. I was there from 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., just playing dodgeball. The guys and girls club soccer teams were a mixed team, and we played the football team in the finals. I still maintain to this day that they cheated. So there’s that against the football team, but we made it to the finals, and it just ended up being one of the most randomly fun memories that I never thought I would have had at Princeton.

What clubs/activities are you involved in on campus?

I was the vice president of the Black Men’s Association up until the start of this past semester. I work at the front desk at Dillon Gym, which is by far the best job on campus — I love that job. I’m a part of this club called Academic Success for Today, where I tutor a local middle school like once or twice a week. It’s usually in person, but this past year was on Zoom, which wasn’t as fun but it was still cool to be able to connect with them virtually. And I’m a member of Ivy [Club].

What is something small or seemingly insignificant that has made you happy recently?

Whenever people tell me that they listen to my podcast, it makes me really happy. Especially people who I don’t know. There was actually this guy — I wish I had his name — but I had never met him before. We didn’t know each other at all, and he messaged me like a month, or so ago. He [said], “Dude, I really like your podcast; it gave me something to look forward to in this semester that hasn’t been as fun.” That had me on cloud nine for probably like a week and a half because I don’t have any expectations that people listen to it. I end a lot of the podcasts with, “Oh, if you’ve listened to the hour and a half of this, I really appreciate it because I really don’t expect anyone to listen.”

Why do you wear a mask?

I wear a mask because I care about my Princeton community … and during the spring semester on campus, especially, [I] care about those around me.

How are you involved in the Princeton community?

I’m a part of SIFP (Scholars Institute Fellows Program), which has really promoted self care. I was an advising fellow for Matriculate, which was beyond rewarding. I’m involved with the Pace Center and this year, I was involved in Service Focus, and I still volunteer with Home Front. Before being an RCA, I was on the Forbes College Council — I really do bleed red and I love Forbes, anything! And I’m in the Undergraduate Student Government and this past year, I wrote some articles for the Princeton Political Review. I’m also involved with Whig-Clio.

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year?

Yeah, this past year has been the year of growing. And [the pandemic] forced me to relax. Instead of being go, go, go all of the time, I learned more about the value of self care.

Has the experience of the pandemic refined any of your values?

I think it’s important to just be okay with not necessarily knowing if what you’re doing is right all the time … I think I value the serendipity and spontaneity of every day now that the normalcy was ripped away.

Do you think you will carry the things you’ve learned, especially what you’ve learned about yourself, when we resume normal living and going into your junior year?

Yeah, I’m looking forward to junior year where I can just hang around or spend hours in the dining hall, just doing nothing of significant importance. And being an RCA next year, I’m definitely going to try to do a lot more yoga study breaks or just casual hanging around.

Have you found that your relationships with people have changed significantly in any way over the past year?

I think a lot of my very, very close relationships have become stronger than they would have been without a pandemic, just because I felt like there was a lot more effort that needed to be put in to maintain these relationships. [But] I think those really close relationships have strengthened at the cost of more casual relationships.

When you think of this past year, what has kept you grounded?

A big thing that has kept me grounded during this whole thing has been reality TV. Last summer, I was competing in these reality TV games on Twitter or over zoom … and I was able to interact with new people all over the world.

Did you get to meet people while doing that?

I definitely met a lot of people, I don’t know if I’d call them friends, but I would be okay with messaging them on Twitter. But [it] mostly gave me something to look forward to.

How do you feel about Zoom with reality TV games and classes?

I’m pro-Zoom. I love it because I think it’s so easy to just talk in class. Whenever I speak on Zoom, [if] I’m in intimidating situations, I just go to a different tab.

What have you missed most about Princeton during the pandemic?

I’ve missed going to a Princeton affiliated talk or some event. [I miss] just going to where there is a large congregation of people who you’re not necessarily on a super close basis with and just seeing their faces and being able to say hi. And, I think I genuinely care about all of the people who are on the periphery of my relationships, and I definitely didn’t get to see them around campus as much as I would have if it was normal.

If a tourist were to ask you for your recommendation for what to do at Princeton, what would you recommend?

Walk around the campus really slowly and appreciate the beauty of the buildings and the nature, and then pretend like you’re the main character in a movie.

Anything else you want to add?

This whole experience has made me realize how grateful I am for an institution like Princeton. I’ve received a lot of financial support during this time, so I think it’s important to recognize when an institution does right.

But, I think something that I’m looking forward to being improved going forward is that I hope [the] push towards recognizing students’ mental health and academic stress wasn’t a one time passing thing for Princeton. Rather, this is like a lesson that they can learn. And I hope the students as well don’t lose the same passion and that we all still apply the same pressure going forward in advocating for the recognition of mental health.

Why do you wear a mask?

Because Fauci told me to! I wear a mask because I believe in science.

What do you find to be the hardest part about wearing a mask? Do you find it difficult to interpret others’ facial expressions?

Not being able to see facial expressions is definitely hard. When we came back to campus and everybody was wearing masks, I could not recognize a single person. They’d be like, “Douglas!” and I’d be like “Hey?” not having any clue who they were.

What brought you to Princeton?

The alumni and the school spirit, hands down. I’m a tour guide with Orange Key and at the end of our tours we have to say why we chose Princeton. As I always say, I could sit here and talk all day about Princeton’s amazing academics, the lowest student to faculty ratio in the Ivy League, or the insane opportunities. But at the end of the day, what made me say “yes” to Princeton was the alumni and how engaged they are. People come back for reunions every year, which is crazy to me. I love that I go to a school where my journey with Princeton is only starting, as opposed to ending, when I graduate. Even during the pandemic, I’ve been cold emailing alumni like, “I don’t know what I want to do with my life, do you want to help?” and they’re like, “Yes!” That’s why I chose Princeton and that’s why I continue to sing its praises: the love for Princeton that people have.

What is your favorite memory at Princeton?

I loved my freshman seminar and the field trips we took. I miss that a lot. Something that is attractive about Princeton is the relationships you can build with professors and that was the first time that I experienced that. Since that was the first semester of my first year, I feel like I haven’t been able to make relationships with professors as easily since then. With Zoom, I think office hours and interactions with professors have become less small talk and more business-like.

Have you picked up any sort of hobby, skill, or mannerism during the pandemic?

Yes, lots! Most notably TikTok — I speak in TikToks now. Pre-COVID-19 when it was kind of getting popular all my friends were telling me to download it and I was like “I’m not getting on it.” But I hit a wall last April, the first month of being home. There’s only so much you can do for 30 days. Now I speak in TikTok audios in my daily life, not even intentionally sometimes. And people get it because they’re on TikTok but then I’m talking to my mom and she’s like, “What?”

I also went to bartending school over quarantine when things reopened for the first time. It was socially distanced and we had masks on and stuff. It was kind of a joke at first but I actually really liked it.

What is your favorite food/restaurant in Princeton?

Olives. Never had a bad meal at Olives — not a single one. I love coffee too. My favorite coffee shop is Sakrid Coffee. I have a debate with my friends about whether it’s pronounced “sacred” or “sack-rid”. The verdict’s still out.

Who is one person with whom your relationship has significantly changed in the past year? How and why?

My sister. I have a little sister who just turned 17 in March. You know, we grew up pretty close. But being home in the pandemic for an extended period of time — in terms of interests, this is probably the first time where our interests are similar-ish. So that has changed significantly in my life. My sister is more a friend now than she was before. Before, she was “my little sister,” and now we talk like friends. I’m sure that would’ve happened eventually, but I feel like it would’ve probably happened when I was older if not for the pandemic.

If you were writing a chapter of a history textbook about 2020, what subheadings would you create?

We can start with a play on words about “World War III” because we started 2020 almost about to enter a third World War. Then, Kobe Bryant died so that was an indication that this year was about to be horrible. I’d do a new chapter from a mysterious narrator who’s in Wuhan followed by a “dun dun dun” to introduce COVID-19. So I would have to write an entire chapter about getting evicted from campus and how dramatic it was. I’d also include a subheading about the “Orange Man” and how he thought the pandemic would be over by Easter. Then, I would go into the events of the summer about race. Another subheading would be about the election and welcoming “Uncle Joe” into office. Finally, even though it was in 2021, I think the season finale would be Prince Phillip’s death. It just feels fitting.

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year?

I learned a lot about myself in the past year. I think tangibly what I’ve learned is that I hate working from home. I realized I’m the kind of person that needs a clear partition between work and life and it’s been really hard having them be mixed. It has honestly made my work worse — instead of deferring to working more, I’ve been deferring to my bed more. I feel like there’s a difference when it’s a 9 a.m. lecture where you have to get up at 8 o’clock, brush your teeth, put on your clothes, and make sure you don’t look dead, right? With Zoom, I wake up at 8:57 a.m., grab my computer off my desk, and turn my camera off.

Intangibly, I think you really have to find a way to be happy regardless of what the world around you looks like. I think that’s something that you kind of hear people say all the time, but COVID-19 really forced me, as I’m sure it has everyone, to confront that for once. I mean, everything was literally horrible — at one point it was actually on fire, not just metaphorically. So it’s really hard and something that I still really struggle with is finding a way to be happy regardless of what is going on around me. I’ve gotten better at it but I still have a lot of work to do. It’s easy to be like, “Wow, these are unprecedented times” and be like “It’s a draw, I’m just gonna go hibernate until it’s all over.” It’s an uphill battle for me every day.

Why do you wear a mask?

Partially because I’ve become a creature of habit, and it’s been mandatory for so long. People who are better at science than I am tell me that that’s the right thing to do, so I follow their advice. Now that some of the mask mandates have been lifted I still feel a little uncomfortable not wearing a mask, and haven’t gotten used to the idea yet that seeing people without masks is OK. I wish that when I got vaccinated I felt liberated and ready to rip the mask off, but since it’s been a whole year I feel bare without it. The vaccine lowered the stress level of being without a mask, but it didn’t break the habit.

What is your connection to Princeton, and what were you known for in high school?

I’m a rising sophomore. During my college decision process, for a very long time I was set on going to a dance conservatory. I danced at a performing arts high school, never really thought twice about my desire to make that my career, and then realized a lot of stuff during my senior year application process and switched gears to wanting to be at a place that had very strong academics that would also allow me to continue to dance in some capacity.

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year? Have you redefined any of your values?

Yes, for sure. I think I’ve gained a lot of confidence. Not that I wasn’t confident before, but it was confidence that came from other people, and being recognized or given compliments or recognition by other people, and being in the pandemic, being at home, and not interacting with people in the way I normally do forced me to get recognition from myself. Being in that very limited environment, I learned to depend on myself for a lot and began to understand what it means to look to yourself first for answers. It’s like, nobody else is here to give me a correction or give me a pat on the back, so I don’t want to be cocky or egotistical and give myself praise I don’t deserve. But I still want to be confident, and how do you find that balance when you don’t have the option of walking up to a friend and talking?

What do you find to be the most socially uncomfortable or awkward part about wearing a mask?

Somebody was in the elevator today in my building and they said, “Hi.” I smiled back because that’s normally how I greet people — I was wearing sunglasses and a mask and I’m 100% sure that it looked like I had no expression. I like to smile, that’s my normal greeting to people, and it’s so bad because it really doesn’t show beneath the mask. Other than that, sometimes I can’t tell what people are saying and it just becomes this back and forth of “Yes?,” and “What did you say?”

Have you found that your relationships with those you are closest to have changed significantly in any way over the past year? If so, how?

The pandemic has just consumed so much headspace. It basically has defined almost everything this past year, and there’s very little that has happened that has not been in some way connected to it. I’ve been seeing a lot of my friends from high school recently, and talking with them, everything ends up coming back to some sort of pandemic-related topic, whether it’s school closure or sports or dating in the pandemic. It’s just become such a cultural monolith, and I don’t know if that’s changed relationships but it’s definitely changed the way we communicate. But as much as it’s a conversation starter, it has also narrowed down the types of things you can talk about because it’s very hard to go to a topic that isn’t related to COVID.

What is something small or seemingly insignificant that has made you happy recently?

I live pretty close to a park, so I tend to go walking there a lot, and there were a couple of different trees with bird nests in them and you could see the baby birds in them. They were very loud and had their beaks open, and occasionally the parent bird would come back. Not that I hadn’t seen that before, but that’s a cyclical thing that happens every year and just to see that still happening is on a superficial level very cute and nice and happy. And also it’s nice to see people outside appreciating the nest and the air, and remembering that by the time these birds grow up all of this will be behind us helps keep in mind that this is going to get better.

What have been your fondest memories at Princeton so far?

Honestly, every single time I’ve been hanging out with people outside. I think that everybody is so ready to be in the nice weather and wants to get out and socialize after the very snowy winter, whether that’s just hanging out on Poe, or having a very lovely picnic in Prospect garden (which was my semester highlight).

What do you miss most about your life before the coronavirus? What is the first thing you’ll do when the world returns to somewhat normal?

I would really like to travel again. A big trip. I have been able to do small trips, not to stay overnight, but I haven’t been on a plane or any road trips that would amount to being an overnight stay. That would be nice. A concert would be really nice, but I think I’d still feel a bit uncomfortable. I guess I miss the idea of not even having to worry about it, like how I would not think twice about being on a crowded train before the pandemic started. Before, I would never get up and switch seats because someone sat next to me, or be actively looking for hand sanitizer every time I entered a building.

Why do you wear a mask?

I think humanity is a lot more interconnected than we all realize it is. And if there's one thing that we should all take away from this collectively, it's that we really have the ability to help or harm other people with our actions, even our small little actions.

What was your path to Princeton University?

I graduated high school in 2012. I joined the Marine Corps from 2012 to 2017. That was an experience. I got out in 2017 and I took about a year off, staying in Southern California just bartending and hanging out at the beach, trying to enjoy the experiences that I felt like I lost over the past five years in some ways. And then in 2018, I enrolled at Saddleback College in Southern California, really not knowing what I was doing or why I wanted to do it. I just wanted some new purpose and a new challenge, and then I ended up getting my associate’s degree in psychology. And now, I’m in the weird boat of being a first-year sophomore at Princeton. I'm a transfer student, I'm an unconventional student as a veteran. It's really weird for me that I'm going to be working on my JP, and I'm declaring my major, and I've never been in a Princeton classroom. All I know is Zoom.

What has your experience been so far as an unconventional student in your first year at Princeton during a pandemic?

The past year has been a dual burden of transitioning from a community college to the rigor of Princeton, and then transitioning from normal life into this pandemic remote learning. It's just been a huge challenge. I try to take the glass half full approach and recognize that it's definitely taught me things about myself — things that I think and I hope that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. But I think I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my down points, my struggles, and my frustrations with the past year.

What do you wish traditional undergraduate students knew about non-traditional undergraduate students?

The first thing that comes to mind is to not be intimidated, because I feel like traditional students pick up on the fact that the student might be older. Don't be afraid to inquire, obviously with tact and delicacy. We're all here trying to have the same experience and we want to make a community and network and have friends so if you're curious, reach out and ask.

What have you learned about yourself in the past year?

I don't think it's anything new per se, but just being more mindful of my social energy and the way I want to direct it. Not having any social stimulation has really taught me that you need this fine mixture of both social outings and personal time. So it's not anything new, it's just been like practicing an instrument or language. It’s caused me to really learn what works for me through trial and error.

If you could give your pre-COVID-19 and pre-Princeton self one piece of advice, what would it be?

I would tell myself to be more in touch with my mental health and to give myself some leniency. I left my community college with a 4.0 GPA, and coming here, I’m thinking, ‘Am I going to continue that?’ I’ve been learning that a 3.7 GPA with mental and physical health intact is much better than a 3.9 GPA with a heart ready to burst, with skyrocketing blood pressure, or just clinical depression. So there are those balances, which I thought that I had tuned into when I was at community college, but the burden of Princeton and the burden of pandemic have just been, for me personally, unprecedented — especially both coming at once. So it's just really challenged my ability to balance life and work but also to let go of perfectionism.

When you think about this past year, what or who has kept you grounded?

Undoubtedly, my girlfriend and our dog. We moved to Princeton from Southern California in August, having never lived together, and then we just got a brand new dog. So it was a whole big experiment. But my girlfriend and dog have both kept me grounded in this world of no social stimulation.

What is your favorite film or television series you’ve watched over the past year?

Since we moved here, my girlfriend and I were able to finally get through Breaking Bad. It's incredibly good and it was the show that people were talking about when I was younger. Both my girlfriend and I managed to make it for a decade without hearing any spoilers.

What do you hate most about Zoom? What is your favorite Zoom feature?

First, I would applaud both the professors and the students at making the best out of this terrible situation and recreating education to a degree that I didn't think humanity could do. What I hate about it the most is that you miss the little things in the auditory domain, so when you're having a precept discussion, or even the lecture, you miss the giggles, the gasps, the the involuntary reactions that people make — you lose those when only one or two people are unmuted at a time. And, those are so minuscule but I feel like we subconsciously or consciously notice them, and they really do contribute to the feel of the conversation. My favorite feature is the private chats, when the professor permits that function. Not even for the classic ‘note passing in middle school’ kind of thing. It's just easier to clarify a point with one person rather than interrupting the entire lecture by putting a question in the general chat.

What are your hopes and dreams for after college?

I'm planning on going to law school, or something constitutional law related. From there, I'm cool either trying to continue on in academia, or to go work in a cafe or as a bartender. In my life, I chase things that interest me. I wouldn't feel as bad about not working within the field I’ve studied because it's not as if I’m chasing something that doesn't interest me only for the purposes of a potential job.

Why do you wear a mask?

I feel like wearing a mask is the most responsible thing that one can do right now to ensure that COVID-19 doesn’t spread from myself to others. It is the bare minimum you can do as a citizen. Of course, the vaccine opens up so many more doors, but vaccination does not guarantee that you’re going to be completely immune afterwards, so I think continuing to wear a mask right now is very important.

What is your connection to Princeton (the town or the University)?

I am a first year student at Princeton. It is an honor to be a part of this community. I have met so many like-minded people and people I have learned from and grown from knowing. I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to call this home.

What were you known for in high school?

I was kind of known as the nerd in high school. I spent a lot of my time coding, but I was also a violinist, an artist, a debater, and a computer scientist. I was involved in a lot of activities! Luckily, through those activities I got to meet a lot of people, which was a really good experience. I feel like I experienced a lot of positive growth during that time.

Do you miss high school?

Well, things in high school changed for me about halfway through. I feel like in high school there’s a lot of pressure to participate in activities, just for the sake of logging them on your resume. I felt like up until junior year I was just spending a lot of time doing things I wasn’t necessarily passionate about. I realized by the end of sophomore year that I was in a lot of clubs that I didn’t really care about. I was just doing it for the resume. It suddenly occurred to me, “Why am I doing these things? I don’t care about them and I’m wasting so much time on them.” So I immediately dropped out of three clubs and I focused on things that I actually cared about. I learned that, in life, you really have to do what makes you happy. You can’t do anything for anybody else because it’s your life and it’s your happiness at stake. I wasted two years of my life doing things that I didn’t care about.

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year? Have you redefined any of your values?

I realized that the root of my happiness is other people. I think that sounds very cheesy but, because I had to spend a lot of the past year socially distancing, I realized just how much of an impact other people have on my happiness. In my AP English Literature class, we did some reading on existentialism. We read this one text and at the end, it concluded that “Hell is other people.” But that couldn’t be any further from the truth. I had completely taken for granted the company of other people. I’ve developed such a deep appreciation for my friends and family. I hope I never forget these feelings and how much I value others.

If you could give your pre-COVID-19 self one piece of advice, what would it be?

I would just tell myself to be gentle with myself. I learned a lot this past year. I can’t expect myself to perform at 100% in all my classes, especially when I’m struggling with the essential implications of a pandemic. And that’s really hard to do at 18. We’re supposed to be partying and meanwhile, we are worrying about whether or not our family members are going to make it. That’s really scary. And being here is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to be fully immersed in an environment that is purely rooted in your own growth and education. And it’s okay to fail an exam because you only learn and grow from your failures.

When you think about this past year, what or who has kept you grounded?

My mom. First semester was hard because, when I wasn’t able to be social and meet new people, I was tying so much of who I was and my self-worth to my grades. And my mom helped me realize college isn’t just about getting the grades. So much of it is about meeting people from all different walks of life and just learning from their life experiences. So I’d like to shout-out my mom for keeping me grounded during fall semester.

What do you hate most about Zoom?

I kind of miss just hearing people’s candid reactions, because everyone is more than likely muted by default. Things like laughter or applause when a preceptor cracks a joke.

What have been your fondest memories at Princeton so far?

I think it was like one of the first days that the weather actually was good, so I brought a large beach towel with me and three of my friends and I sat behind Nassau Hall. In that moment, it felt like I was just a normal college student. I’d completely forgotten that the world’s falling around our ears and a pandemic was raging just outside of the gates, and that was really nice.

What are your hopes and dreams (feel free to answer as specifically or broadly as you’d like)?

I just want to follow whatever makes me happy.

Why do you wear a mask?

For me, [wearing a mask] is about protecting myself and protecting others. If I get sick, I don’t want to pass it on to other people, or my partner, and it prevents me from getting sick as well

What is your connection to Princeton? If you are affiliated with the University, what brought you here?

The main thing that brought me to Princeton was the research opportunities. I’m interested in biophysics, and when I was researching graduate schools, I found that Princeton had a really strong physics program and had a lot of people working on interesting biophysics questions, to see how we can apply some of the principles of physics and maths to try to understand the inner workings of biologic systems, which really fascinates me. And then once I was accepted into Princeton, when I came here to visit I found a really inviting environment with people who were friendly and very passionate about what they do. I really liked the community of graduate students here, and within the physics department, people are very supportive and very willing to help.

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year? Have you redefined your values?

I found out during the pandemic how much I really valued interpersonal connection. Before the pandemic I worked alone a bit, and I thought of myself as someone more introverted who is okay working from home and independently. But once the pandemic hit I found that I really craved some level of interpersonal connection, and really missed going to work and being able to have lunch and dinner with people, and getting into impromptu conversations about science and other things. Not being able to do that, it’s very difficult to focus and not let the days go by.

Have you picked up any sort of hobby, skill, or routine during the coronavirus? How about an interpersonal or emotional skill?

The pandemic definitely forced me to set more boundaries between work and relaxation. If I didn’t draw that boundary, it would just be me sitting by the desk and working, because there’s no line between my office and home with my partner. And so my partner and I have decided that we should set a boundary, when we do something together and get away from work for a little bit. It was very helpful to say “alright, after six o’clock, we’re gonna cook, and eat, and just relax and decompress. If you wanna work a couple of hours later, fine, but at this moment of time we’re gonna take a break.” Part of what I like to do is to go out and see friends, and my partner loves going to movies, so it was very hard not being able to do that. I also definitely spent more time cooking, because there was nothing else to do. My two crutches in terms of cooking, when I get lazy, are Chinese food, which I cook a lot of, and Italian food. I tried baking bread, but I found that I didn’t have the time. We were also too negligent about maintaining the sourdough starter, even though my partner’s a microbiologist, so we decided to give up on the sourdough.

Have you found that your relationships with those you are closest to have changed significantly in any way over the past year?

It’s been a lot harder to keep close with our friends. Before, we were able to see them at work, in the office, or at a party. It’s been a lot harder to maintain those connections because I think we rely on a lot of spontaneity. In the pandemic, everything has to be scheduled and it has to be organized through Zoom, and it’s much harder to have natural lines of communication. I also have friends from my undergraduate degree, or home in New York City, and it’s been hard to continue those connections.

With my family, even though they’re in New York, I haven’t seen them since January of 2020. My parents are not really technologically adept, so I couldn’t Zoom with them because I would have had to set up the technology for them and then teach it to them. Since I didn’t have the opportunity to show them how to do these things, we relied on weekly phone calls, keeping tabs on each other and making sure we were staying safe. There was definitely a lot more responsibility on me to make sure my parents were staying safe and getting the help that they needed, considering that they’re a bit older.

With my partner, the pandemic made us stronger. We got to spend a lot more time with each other. My partner had to go through his general exams during the pandemic, and I tried to support him as much as possible. He’s an experimentalist, so it’s very hard to stay at home all the time because he misses doing experiments. Just being at home and trying to live like a theorist, working on ideas, and planning things, is not something he’s very used to, so trying to support him with that was a big part of our relationship during this time.

If you were writing a chapter of a history textbook about 2020, what subheadings would you create?

There could be a whole book, there are so many different facets. I think a big part that should be highlighted is the flow of information and the Age of Information that we experience today.

What is your favorite Zoom feature?

The most redeeming part of Zoom is the fact that you can record. That was immensely useful for my students’ review when I was teaching, if they missed something or misheard it. I also liked easily jumping between different rooms at a conference instead of running across a big convention hall.

What did you miss most about your life before the coronavirus? What is the first thing you’ll do when the world returns to somewhat normal?

Being able to go back to New York City so often. My parents are in New York City, so usually I’d go home every month or so and stay at home over the weekend. They would cook me food, and give me ingredients I might want to use in future cooking, or fill my luggage with snacks that are a little more difficult to get in the suburbs. My parents immigrated from China, the Guangzhou region, and they do a lot of stuff themselves. There’s a preserved salted dried pork that’s hard to get well-made. We also have a lot of dried seafood ingredients. My parents are much better at picking the supposedly best ones, and they told me they have a big bag waiting for me.

The University would provide me with tickets to see my advisor, who is also based there, and to go to seminar talks. I miss being in the city, surrounded by its hustle and bustle. The graduate center is close to Koreatown, and I would maybe pick up some Korean fried chicken for my partner to eat. I used to get a couple of boxes and surprise him. We’d also go to Broadway shows, or the Met, or an opera or concert. I also really love going to Shakespeare in the Park in the summer. I’d go to at least one of them every year, and we couldn’t do that last summer, so that’s definitely something I want to do.

What’s your favorite film or television series that you’ve watched during the past year?

There are so many great shows. I’m a big fan of animation, but I think that’s very common amongst our age group. I really love Bob’s Burgers, I watch it religiously almost. Central Park, lots of Archer. We like to watch comedies, with everything happening in the world and the stress of work we like to keep it light and laugh.

Why do you wear a mask?

I wear a mask to keep myself safe, but also to protect other people and to make sure I’m not harming anybody else. It makes sense that if we all wear a mask, we won’t be spreading this virus to each other.

What is your connection to Princeton (the town or the University)? If you are affiliated with the University, what brought you here?

I first visited Princeton in 1993 when my best friend’s brother was admitted early. It was in December and it was cold and grey. Despite all that, I fell in love with Princeton and decided that was where I wanted to go to college. Fast forward, I went to Princeton as an undergraduate. Many years later, I found myself living in New York and looking to move out to raise a family. I kept coming back to Princeton and looking around at the community and thinking that it was a place I would really like to live and raise a family. We found a house here that we fell in love with and have been living here since 2007, so Princeton has been a part of my life in a lot of different ways over many years.

What was your experience moving to Princeton after going to school here?

It was odd at first. If I did come on campus, it felt like seeing ghosts of people I knew as students. But now that I’ve lived here for over 10 years, it feels like the place I live, not the place I went to college. I have a whole life that has nothing to do with my college life. It actually feels sort of funny now when people come back for reunions, it’s like, ‘what are you all doing here?’ Everyone I know coming back to the town where I live!

What do you find to be the most socially uncomfortable or socially awkward part about wearing a mask?

It's funny, I’ve gotten kind of used to it. I hate not being able to see people’s facial expressions. It makes it harder to interact with people on a personal level.

What do you hate most about Zoom?

After COVID began, a group of my Princeton University friends and I did a Zoom group every night with our kids. We did a trivia night where someone was in charge of coming up with questions, along with a theme. That was a great thing about Zoom that we all got to see each other, but there is also something unsatisfying about it in that it’s a reminder that you can’t actually see the people.

What is your favorite Zoom feature?

My favorite feature is stop video.

What have been your fondest memories at Princeton so far?

They’re all related to friends. As much as anybody comes to Princeton for the education, what you leave with is an amazing set of friends. So those are the fondest memories, of fun times, important times, spent with friends who continue to be part of my life today. Hanging out with roommates in your room, Lawnparties on the Street, spending time in the [architecture] studio with friends. They’re all people-centric.

How do you view the relationship the University has with the town? Has this relationship changed since the beginning of the pandemic? How do you wish this relationship were different?

There isn’t much of a relationship between the town and the University. If you are someone like me, a mom doing stuff with her kids, the University isn’t part of my day-to-day life at all. And why should it be? I have my own things going on. Princeton is an incredibly rich place to live without having anything to do with the University, and that’s all thanks to the fact that the University is there, it’s the magnet that holds the whole town.

I think that the University has been very thoughtful about the way it’s approached COVID-19. Town residents were a bit worried that if all the students came back from all over the place, it would cause COVID-19 to spread in the area. But, I think that the University has been super careful about that and that hasn’t happened.

What do you miss most about your life before the coronavirus? What is the first thing you’ll do when the world returns to somewhat-normal?

I’d travel somewhere. I don’t know where exactly, but get on a plane and go somewhere. It doesn’t really matter where. It would be nice to get out of town.

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

Post-COVID, what I’m really looking forward to is just being able to get back to normal, especially for my kids. Just being able to do normal stuff like having a sleepover at a friend’s house, just being able to spend time with people in-person. We’ve really missed that. One of the lessons of COVID is, when you think about hopes and dreams, you think it has to be something big, but it’s really the smaller things that make your life day to day.

Why do you wear a mask?

Well, that's an interesting question, because I already had COVID, and I had my first vaccine shot. But I’m wearing a mask because I don’t want to get in trouble, and I don’t want to make people uncomfortable. And I think that I will continue wearing a mask, even if I get a cold or flu, because I just don’t want to get people sick.

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year?

Yes, actually, I’ve explored my sexuality and my gender, and now, I don’t want to be associated a lot with masculinity. I feel like all my life, I’ve been pressured into fitting into this one category of what is masculine, because I’m from a very sexist country, and gender roles are very defined there. But when I got here, I realized that some guys are not all masculine. Also, a lot of times, I also don’t feel connected to a bunch of the things that a lot of guys connect to. Like, I don’t like cars. At the same time, well, maybe that just means that I’m a guy that has different interests. And that's fine. So I guess I’m non-binary? I don’t know. You can see that I use he/they pronouns. Ever since quarantine started, I started to explore gender expression in different ways, sometimes wearing makeup, sometimes painting my nails, sometimes using different pronouns, and so far, I feel good about myself. And I feel like I’m finally in a position where I don’t want to be like all other men, but also, I’m not a woman. I think that's pretty cool.

I also realized that I’m kind of addicted to social media. I usually get a status report of how many hours I spend on my phone and all that. Well, I got almost a third of my day spent on my phone, only on social media like Twitter or Facebook, or some other dating app, or YouTube. Wow, I’m just very prone to that.

Has your social media addiction intensified during this time? Or did you just notice because of the status report?

Well, I would say that even before the pandemic, I was an active member of Tiger Confessions [a Facebook group where students post anonymous “confessions”] and other forms of social media. But after the pandemic started, I started to get on Twitter more, and I got like 600 followers, and then I got suspended. And once I got suspended, wow, I was about to cry. If I got suspended before the pandemic, I'd be like, “Oh, that’s fine. I don’t care. I’m just gonna make another account.” But I was devastated. It felt like an addiction.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you get suspended for?

I got suspended for impersonating Sarah Paulson, an actress from “Run” and “American Horror Story.” I had a profile picture of her screaming. It was a meme. And then I got suspended for celebrity impersonation.

What was the toughest part of Junior Year?

The JP. I had to write two. The first one wasn’t that bad — it was just very disorganized. And I couldn’t really concentrate because I was living in Philadelphia during the fall semester, and that was rough, because my friend had COVID. And I was also living by myself, and I didn’t really have a support system in Philadelphia.

And in the spring semester, I was taking five classes, and I was an officer of my eating club [Quadrangle Club]. I got an extension for my Dean’s Date and an extension for my JP, and it was a lot of work for both with very little time. I was going crazy. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t even eat well, though I did prioritize that. And now I’m finished! I can leave that all behind. And I got a good grade. So that’s also very good.

Now that you're living in continuous housing, how has the campus atmosphere changed for you?

Well, it sucks! Because I can’t see any of my friends. Some of my friends went on a road trip, and I was supposed to go, but couldn’t make it because of financial reasons and timing with internships. So the atmosphere is very lonely. Like, I went out and I saw maybe two or three people. In terms of atmosphere, it’s very dead. But the food is good. They got pizza, they got the grill back, the salad bar. They’ve got burritos.

Is there anything that has kept you grounded through the pandemic, to help you stave off the loneliness?

Yeah, my friends. I love my friends, I love making friends. And my friends from Twitter have kept me grounded, so maybe that’s why I’m also addicted to it. It’s a thing that brings me joy in the time when I need it most. I actually got to meet a lot of my OOMFies, which means “one of my followers,” a lot of OOMFies. They’re the reason why I’m not losing it right now.

If you could go back in time and give yourself a piece of advice before COVID happened, what would it be?

Buy masks. This one, [holds up mask] I’ve been using it for like three days. It’s supposed to be disposable. I have a few masks around, but I don’t want to use them all and then get more because they’re expensive. Another thing that I would have said to myself before the pandemic? Probably get rid of stuff. I need to get rid of stuff. Because moving out and moving in was like the worst process ever. Especially in Philadelphia.

What is the first thing you think you will do once the pandemic is somewhat over or the world returns to normal?

Oh! Hug all my friends. I can’t wait for the pandemic to be over so I can hug all my friends. You know, give them a big hug in the middle of Frist. Right outside of PSAFE.

If you were writing a chapter of history about 2020, what subheadings would you make?

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Just a string of A’s. 27 A’s, an H at the end, and then exclamation point. Because there’s a lot going on, and I can’t take all of it at once.

Do you have any hopes, dreams or aspirations for after graduation?

Yes, I hope that I get into either a teaching program just after graduation, like a Masters in teacher preparation, So I can become a Spanish teacher and hopefully get a job in New York City, D.C., or just somewhere with a subway system. I want to be good at it and I want to have some sort of impact in kids’ lives.

Why do you wear a mask?

Because that’s what the president says and the CDC said that we had to wear a mask and I had to follow those rules. Because I don’t want to get sick. I got COVID but I don’t want to get more sick. To protect myself and my kids.

When did you get COVID? Did you and your family get through it okay?

That was in January. I was diagnosed on January 25. And then a week later my daughter and my son were diagnosed with COVID, I think because of me. I had body pain, fever, chest pain, a little cough and sore throat. But that was the only thing I felt at that time. And my daughter and my son were … they didn’t feel anything really. My daughter said that she lost taste.

And have you since recovered okay?

Yes, I feel fine. But I think at the beginning, I felt very … you know, like, I went to sleep all the time. And a little tired. But since then, I haven’t … done exercise or gone for a run.

Has COVID affected your job this past year? Has it affected how you’ve been working this year?

Yeah. When we went to, you know, when the CDC said that we had to be home for three months or four months, I just quit all my jobs because I was in the middle of divorce and I didn’t have anybody to help me out with the kids. Remote learning was so difficult.

I had to be home with them and help them because the first year was so difficult. Because even the school was trying to figure out how to do it. We didn’t have any computers. They were using my computer. And they were using my phone for Zoom meetings.

Yeah. I stopped working for like three or four months [from March to July].

In July … Like, you know, I just spent all my savings. I used to have savings and I spent it because my ex-husband was helping with the rent and the children’s food but, you know, who’s going to pay my bills, my car, my food? And I spent all my savings for three months. And then I said, “I have to do something.” Because I used to work in houses. And those people didn’t care if I had money or I didn’t have money. They just told me to come back when the pandemic passed. And then, like I said, I had to do something because I didn’t have money. And then a friend of mine told me about Instacart. And then I started doing Instacart with my kids. Sometimes I left them in the car and I did the shopping for people.

After everything that’s happened this past year, have you learned anything about yourself?

I learned a lot about myself. I can survive here. And there are a lot of people, good people, that are willing to help other people, especially in my community. And a lot of organizations that can help. But, I learned to be strong and survive.

If you could give yourself from a year and a half ago, pre COVID, one piece of advice, what would it be?

To be humble, and kind with everybody. Always. And I think I had to knock on doors and look for help. That is something that I haven’t done since I came to the United States.

What is something that has made you happy recently?

I like, for example, when my kids go to their dad’s house. It makes me happy to go out by myself and to be by myself and enjoy myself. And to go for a walk and look for nature.

Is there any sort of skill or hobby that you picked up while you were at home during COVID?

No, because I was busy. You know, I feel like I didn’t have time for myself. I had to be busy with my kids because of their school and their meals. I had to be home preparing their lunch, their snacks, to be with their schedules, and meeting with the teachers. For me, the newest skill, I think I learned how to use Zoom very well.

What is your favorite part about Zoom and what do you hate most about Zoom?

I hate Zoom. I don’t have any favorite parts. It’s very boring to have classes on Zoom. Yeah, and I feel less motivated. There’s nothing motivating about classes on Zoom. I’m learning English, but I didn’t take any classes because I don’t like that. I don’t like Zoom classes.

I like to go to the classroom and see people and get in touch with people. And I learned how to appreciate all that this year. The contact with people.

Do you have any opinions about the relationship between Princeton University and the residents of the town of Princeton?

Hmmm, I don’t know. I think the University should help more because they have money. Especially with minority people, they could help more.

Yeah. Because you know what? When I started getting on my feet again, I helped Princeton Mutual Aid to deliver food and there are a lot of people that don’t have food. They don’t have a lot of things like beds, furniture ... I think sometimes we think that we are less fortunate, we don’t have a lot, but there are more people that have a lot of problems. I think Princeton University could help.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in Princeton?

Do you know Jules [Thin] Crust? I think it is right next to Olives. That’s my favorite. I love the pizza from there.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when the world returns to somewhat normal?

I’m going to my country. That’s the first thing. I am fully vaccinated for that. I would like to go and visit my parents and my brother because this has been a long year.

Why do you wear a mask?

I wear a mask primarily to protect others. My view has always been that COVID-19 is obviously very serious. There’s definitely validity in the fact that if you don’t wear the mask the likelihood of you getting the virus is much higher. With those things coupled together, I choose to wear a mask.

What is your connection to Princeton?

Princeton is near and dear to my heart, and to my family’s heart. We have a business there — Mamoun’s Falafel — and we have had that location in Princeton for a little bit over six years now. We’ve become really embedded in the community. And that’s because we have been able to provide our service to the community and really get to know everyone at a high level: business owners, their customers, and just residents in general. So we have a deep presence there and we love the Princeton community. We think that they’ve been so loyal to us, and have given us the opportunity to serve them to such a high degree. And we love doing so!

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year? Have you redefined any of your values?

On a personal level, I sort of refocused on really evaluating how I took things for granted before. So something as simple as just taking a leisure walk now is much more enjoyable for me than it was before. Because, when you’re cooped up for so long, you don’t really have anything to do. Experiencing nature now is just one of those things that relaxes me, and it keeps me focused and grounded. It lets me reflect on what’s going on in my life. So that’s definitely something salient I would say has developed for me over the past year.

What do you find to be the most socially uncomfortable or socially awkward part about wearing a mask?

I wouldn’t say I find anything awkward or socially uncomfortable. I think that as we’ve evolved through the pandemic, we have learned how to adjust our mannerisms and our reactions and such. We can make it so the mask isn’t really ‘a thing.’ No one has to see your smile to know that you’re in a good mood. And I think that’s something people have developed as they’ve been wearing the mask, and something I’ve definitely noticed in a restaurant setting. You know you want to have a high level of customer service, but you can’t smile at them (or rather, they can’t see if you are smiling). So that’s all based on your energy and your body movements.

Have you found that your relationships with those you are closest to (family, friends, etc.) have changed significantly in any way over the past year? If so, how?

Sure, I mean I think everyone could sort of resonate with that. I haven’t seen some friends that I would normally see. I haven’t seen some family that I would normally see. For example, Thanksgiving is usually a time when my whole family comes together. We work in the restaurant business so we’re all over the place, in different locations, always working. That’s one of the days we look forward to being together as a family. But we couldn’t this year. We had to do separate ones. So it definitely was sad and it definitely was a different feeling, not seeing my family and friends. But you just have to adapt to it and know that it’s for the greater good. And at the end of the day, you can see now we’re slowly pushing the corner of getting some normalcy. We’re getting there and there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

When you think about this past year, what or who has kept you grounded?

Really what’s kept me grounded for the past year is just working. My family has also kept me grounded. My girlfriend has. We’ve all just come together to keep ourselves focused. But I would say mostly it would be work, because it gives me purpose in a world where there might not be much purpose right now. But focusing on our business has definitely kept me level-headed, and given me something to go do every day. Also, it allows me to interact with the community and provide service in a way that is safe and effective.

How do you view the relationship the University has with the town?

I think the University is obviously such a big part of the Princeton community. There are so many different cultures and students and people that generally have different views on certain things. And I think that when you see the world that we saw the past year — where there’s so much unrest and so many movements culminating around specific events like the George Floyd killing — it gives the students of Princeton a voice. They are able to portray that to the community with their right to free speech and their ability to talk about a cause. In general, the Princeton community really is Princeton University, because the students have such a large presence here.

Has this relationship changed since the beginning of the pandemic?

I think the pandemic has brought everyone closer. I would definitely say that the students are more willing to be involved with certain things going on in the town. I think that the residents of Princeton are able to be more involved with the students. I think it’s just an overall appreciation for having that human factor there now. They’re not just students any more, they are part of the community, and I think everyone gets along because of it.

If a tourist asked you for your top recommendation for something to do in the town of Princeton, what would you recommend?

Well, I would recommend going to Mamoun’s Falafel, that’s number one! But number two, I would say just taking in the beauty of what Princeton is. It’s a beautiful town, you’ve got such nice greenery around you, and so many different businesses and shopping. I think it’s just an overall great experience when you visit the University. Before we were working here in Princeton, I came walking here with my girlfriend, and it is just such a beautiful thing to do. You really see how lucky and fortunate we are to have a town like Princeton.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I just think that the pandemic really allowed us as a human race to reevaluate what’s important to us, and to really appreciate the things that maybe we hadn’t appreciated before. It also allowed a lot of us who thought we didn’t have a voice to say, ’Okay, you do have a voice.’ The pandemic brought up a lot of unrest on different topics and I think a lot of good came out of that because now we’re able to see some of the issues that we have to tackle as a human body. And the only way to keep that momentum going is just to actively be more involved with it and your community and everyone around you. I think that’s a really important thing that came with the pandemic.

Why do you wear a mask?

For multiple reasons, but mostly because it’s my responsibility to do so to keep other people safe. I can personally know that I don’t have COVID but that can change very quickly. And all it really takes is one person to say “Oh well, I know I don’t have it, so I don’t have to wear a mask” to start a trend of thinking we don’t have to wear masks. It’s kind of like voting. If one person thinks their vote doesn’t matter then that encourages other people not to vote because they think their votes also don’t matter, then that has major consequences.

What were you known for in high school?

Being a “smart kid.”

Do you miss high school?

Yes, in some ways I’m sure rose-colored glasses are on already but that’s the way it is.

If you had to describe how it ended in three adjectives, which would you use?

Poorly, rushed, and could-have-been-better.

Have you learned anything about yourself in the past year?

Isolation is not what I thought it would be. I’m a lot more comfortable being alone than expected, and I think that is a strength in some ways, just in the sense that my self-worth isn’t tied to other people as much as I once thought it was.

If you could give your pre-COVID-19 self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Enjoy your senior year while it lasts. You’re going to be okay, no matter what. Spending all of your time worried about what schools you are going to get into is ultimately going to be a waste, so just breathe.

Have you picked up any sort of hobby, skill, or routine during the pandemic?

This is a habit I guess, but talking to myself out loud and lip syncing under the mask is something I have started doing. But in terms of an actual skill, I think I’ve gotten better at noticing when it is important for my mental health to take precedence. I’ve gotten a lot better at recognizing that going to bed or taking a nap for half an hour in the middle of the day is a lot more important than that last question on the problem set or whatever else is going on.

When you think about this past year, what or who has kept you grounded?

Just the thought that it is going to end, that this [gestures at mask and world] can’t go on forever. Also, continuing to educate myself on the subject has been helpful because there is not so much a sense of “Oh my god, what is going on? This is crazy,” but there is a sense of “Okay, here is what we know is happening.”

What is something small or seemingly insignificant that has made you happy recently?

The release of Taylor’s Version songs. Also, one of my favorite book series is being turned into a TV show by Netflix. So go watch Shadow and Bone on Netflix!!

What have been your fondest memories at Princeton so far?

Any time that I have spent time with friends outside of academics, I have a feeling like even though I haven’t made a billion friends, I’ve met and gotten close to a decent amount of people and they are really good people. I have that sense of relief of not having to think about these relationships in an academic sense. Just being able to have fun with people in a way that didn’t really happen over the summer or fall because of the pandemic has been great.

What do you miss most about your life before the coronavirus?

I realistically missed a prom, and I know other people have lost so much more. But I miss being in person with PEOPLE, even just being together inside. There’s something that is just a little impersonal about wearing the masks and there is just a different level of comfort with people in a setting or era where you don’t have to do that.

What is the first thing you’ll do when the world returns to somewhat-normal?

The first thing I will be doing is seeing people. Having friends over. OH, and going to a museum!!

If a tourist asked you for your top recommendation for something to do in the town of Princeton, what would you recommend?

Go to the Bent Spoon and get yourself some ice cream and some hot chocolate, with their normal marshmallows!