MARC WAGNER
wagnermj@lopers.unk.edu

This time of year was supposed to be joyous. I’m graduating after my 17th year of school, so I can get a job and move on with my life. But instead, I am confined to my home. It gives me reassurance knowing that other people are in the same boat as me, but it still stinks. As Terry Hoitz said in the hit action comedy “The Other Guys,” “I’m a peacock, you gotta let me fly!”

It is easy to get discouraged in times like these, and I have let it affect my mood at times. However, I try to look at things positively. Yes, I may not be able to find a job, I didn’t get a stimulus check, the bars are closed and I can’t see some of my friends and family. But I do get to see my girlfriend and my roommates. I am still able to work from home, and the liquor stores are still open.

Classes are also a lot easier, although I hate doing Zoom meetings, and I miss being in the classroom. Now I find myself with way more free time since I can work at my own pace now. (Professors, please disregard that statement.) I miss seeing my professors and fellow classmates, but I do not miss finding a parking spot on campus. I also do not miss seeing the unfinished fountain. I just hope that if my kids go here, the fountain will be completed. 

I am also able to spend more time doing things I enjoy, like playing video games and watching movies. I am sure a lot of people  are also doing this, but some are also brainstorming ideas to improve the world. It is said that when universities were shut down for the bubonic plague, Isaac Newton invented calculus while he was quarantined. In my opinion, calculus did not improve the world, it just made it worse. I promise I will not invent a new way to do math. I will, however, work on my skills so that when jobs are hiring again, I will be able to give my best to improve whatever business I work for.

The coronavirus may have taken my last semester, but it will not take my lifestyle. My time here at UNK has been memorable. I have made relationships with people that will last for the rest of my life. I know this is cheesy, but UNK is the best college in Nebraska. No, I did not get paid to say that. I am saying that using my own free will. I am glad that I picked this school. It stinks that it had to end like this, but everything happens for a reason. On behalf of myself and the class of 2020, I bid farewell to UNK and all unfinished construction projects. As the famous saying goes, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”