Better Weather, Lots of Work, and COVID Debates!

Hey there!

This past week has been a lot more fun than the last. The weather has been so much nicer- clear skies, sunny days, a gentle breeze, and the perfect temperature. This being said, my week has been filled with a large amount of outdoor activities. My friends and I studied outside every day- either at the UCEN, in our backyard, or the lawn across the street. We had to make up for all the time we spent indoors on the gloomier days.

Other than studying, we resumed our daily sunset walks and even threw in a couple of sunset swims. This weekend I hope to spend a lot of time at the beach and maybe even try to go surfing. 

Everyone in IV seems to be adapting to the new CDC guidelines pretty well, there are a lot less masked people which I am hoping means the majority of the community is fully vaccinated now. Many people are revising guidelines and there are some debates over how to proceed. My sorority house, for example, is going to open up to guests but not everyone seems to agree on the rules. Some argue that only fully vaccinated people should be allowed, since everyone has had the opportunity to by now and if they aren't vaccinated, that is a personal choice. Others are arguing that this could be viewed as discrimination and we aren't allowed to put those rules in place. I am a little conflicted as to where I stand on the topic because I see both sides, but ultimately people who are not getting vaccinated are making that choice and many other parts of the outside world are going to have similar rules- such as UCSB requiring full vaccinations for in person classes in fall and a lot of public transportation putting restrictions in place. 

Although I have been spending a lot of time outdoors and enjoying the place that we live, week 8 is coming to a close which means school is getting very busy. I spent a good chunk of time working on my first draft for our group project- listening to interviews over and over, organizing with my group mates, and adjusting to the tools that the website provides. Additionally, I have a few essays and tests to start preparing for in the next two weeks, and that doesn’t even include finals!

It is definitely a fine line between enjoying Isla Vista and all of the fun activities that come with it and being productive and focused when it comes to school work. The end of spring quarter is definitely exciting me for summer when I can fully enjoy the amenities without having to worry about staying up to date with classes.

Hope you have a great weekend and enjoy these pictures of my time outdoors this last week :)