As I’m sure is the norm with many students who find their academic year coming to a close during this unfortunate and unpredictable time, it can be hard to find something that brings a sense of stability. This is especially the case as I creep (read: hurtle) toward the end of my undergraduate education without any job prospects, limited hiring, and an uncertain and seemingly shrinking job market. It saddens me to think about how my time in the UCWbL is dwindling and that I will face future days without some of the joys, small and large, it has brought me. Among these joys has been the regular appointment that I’ve had with a writer since around the middle of fall quarter.
Originally, I was planning to write this as a more formal reflection on how building a longstanding relationship can positively impact learning goals or develop perfected individual tutoring approaches, but as the onset of the pandemic and its subsequent stay at home orders took hold and remained, something important struck me while wrapping up my tutoring career.
The university transition to remote activities and the city transition into the stay at home order brought many uncertainties. Many opportunities I worked hard for fizzled out as routines changed, jobs were no longer needed, and personal connections were put on a back burner as people hunkered down and took stock. As someone very close to ending their undergraduate career, I am approaching a chapter in life already ripe with uncertainty, not to mention the ways this whole thing has made it ever more present.
I had a fairly short time in the UCWbL compared to many and have only worked here for the past year. There are many things I am thankful for as I reflect on my time. One of the most impactful things I have been a part of as a tutor is my standing appointments with one writer. It started as most appointments in the writing center do, with an introduction and working out an agenda. It felt like any other appointment. The writer and I were friendly, got some work done, and said our goodbyes. When I began to see the same writer on my schedule the same time every week, it felt good. It felt nice to have a regular, and it was a validation that at least one person thought I was doing a good job so far. We worked a lot on some fairly long projects, and it was exciting to learn more about my writer and his area of study as the quarter went on.
Our weekly appointments continued into the next quarter, and each week I knew that I would have one thing to look forward to and to expect. Our appointments became a highlight of my week, and I had a reliable friend on bad weeks.
There are several things we can talk about when thinking about routines, or rituals, that have helped people around us cope with the immense changes COVID-19 has caused. I have had a few of these routines come and go, different phases of forced hyper-productivity and slouchiness pass me by, but I always had my appointments with this writer.
These appointments have given my weeks some sense of the same regularity I had before social distancing and isolation. They have been a nice space to chat lightly, reflect a little bit, and then focus on everything we can but what has been happening around us. I can dive into the writer’s work, continue projects we had been working on, and gradually learn the topics of his writing. It feels nice to work in a familiar space that feels so much different than the seemingly crushing familiarity of my apartment.
On top of it all, this writer has been a great friend to me. He has offered me breaks during long appointments, checked in about school and my week, and just generally had a fresh and positive attitude. Every week he checks in with a smile and a readiness to get work done. It is a refreshing feeling compared to the ups and downs being stuck inside and isolated has given me so far. There were some days where I definitely wouldn’t have gotten up, gotten dressed, and started my day ready and clear headed if it weren’t for him expecting my usual work. I feel a sense of wordless support, knowing someone expects me to continue to do what I would always do.
My favorite part, after our appointments are over and we wrap things up, is saying “See you next week.”