The return to in-person classes at Skyline College is finally here and it’s a very welcoming sight. The classroom energy trumps anything Zoom could offer and the face-to-face interaction has reignited the fire back into my social life. 

It’s the productivity that has rejuvenated my daily routine, which has looked bleak since COVID-19 tried to abolish it in March 2020. I’m setting my alarm in the morning, a task that I consider exciting for the time being. My adrenaline builds up during the course of my short 15-minute drive from my home in Pacifica with excitement brewing as I make the right turn into campus.

Even the process of sitting at a desk — a function my body hasn’t performed in almost two years — has been an enlightening experience based on nostalgia alone. Should I plop myself close to the front of the classroom? Do I have an obligation to play cool toward the back? The constant mind games will take a long time to control.

I have been reporting on Skyline for three semesters from the friendly confines of my overly crowded room. As a journalist, I feel an obligation to tell stories that could make a strong impact on the community. Taking classes online and away from all the action was isolating and seriously made reporting twenty times harder.

That issue has dissolved.

The chatter and buzz about the lively campus atmosphere was always alluded to by the folks that have witnessed it first hand. Since we’ve been back, I’ve been most impressed with the activities staged at the outside venues. The main student stomping ground, dubbed “the Quad,” has already hosted a few events with some student turnout.

Despite many students still conducting their studies online, the sight of back and forth traveling at the Quad is an intriguing bright spot in the return to campus. That area hasn’t even reached the peak of its powers yet; there will only be more traffic coming. People — faculty and students alike — appear to be acclimating, despite the continued chaos happening in the outside world.

Over the previous few semesters, Skyline experienced a long layover of bareness with minimal to no sign of physical students anywhere. Now that we’re finally back, the beauty and gleam of the campus displays minimal rust or decay.

It’s good to be back.