I am a long-distance learner at Western Illinois University (WIU). I step into my slippers, open my laptop, and see my reflection on the black screen. My blanket is fixed across my lap. I click, “Join from Zoom.” I can see my classmates sitting in a classroom on campus in Macomb. I see their lips moving and can hear a word or two here, a loud laugh there. I am silent; I am a large, round face reflected on a screen. Class begins.

It wasn’t always like this, here. For my first semester at WIU, I attended class in person at the campus on River Drive. I walked through the empty halls and sat in the lonely garden. The sunflowers were my company as I watched the geese waddle around the grass, stepping in their own feces and quacking at each other. The Quad Cities (QC) campus lacked class size, but we made up for it in sprightly conversation. We did not need the hallways to be full of students to have productive and engaging classes. Now, the QC English majors attend class from home. This is the experience of an English major transitioning from barren classes on the WIU QC campus to attending full ones via Zoom in Macomb.  

Attending a class via Zoom that is happening in person for Macomb students is interesting. The professors at WIU make attending class in this unique way worth it; they take our education and our futures seriously. They do not feel as though they are far away. While each class from home begins feeling like I am an outsider compared to the students physically in the classroom, by the end of the class period, it feels as though I am just another student. I am an active part of the classroom discussion. I am not a face on a screen, but a college student, ready and willing to ask questions and share my thoughts. Paradoxically, while I am receiving education online, I can’t say that it feels like I am receiving only an “online education.” This is important to me.

This is not to say that there aren’t downsides. When I receive an email inviting me to an English major event, my heart swells until my eyes scan, and I read “Simpkins __.” I cannot and will probably never attend those events. I have started deleting and not opening these emails. My classmates are hard to hear. The students who speak quietly almost always have to have their statements repeated by the professor, creating an awkward scenario where we wait for the remark to be parroted back to the class

Forgive me if this sounds pessimistic. I am almost biased, you see—I am an extrovert down to my very bones. Having connections with classmates and professors creates, to me, a community that is important to doing well in school. It becomes less about circling answers and writing papers and more about gaining knowledge and pursuing self-development. However, my dedication to chatting with others has not been fruitless. I have been able to chat with my classmates over Messenger apps, and after three semesters at WIU, I have joined a club, of sorts!

It may take a bit more effort to be involved, but extra effort pays off, usually. At the end of the day, I am thankful that I am able to attend college and acquire an education. I am excited for my future as an undergraduate college student. I do not regret the path that I have taken or the people that I have met. It is challenging to be a long-distance learner, but challenges are good. These challenges are opportunities to grow. I am what is politely called a “long-distance learner,” but most importantly, I am a student at WIU.