The quarantine restrictions for my university began in March, and for me that meant the last quarter of my master’s program was completed at home. I was very lucky that my research was entirely computational at that point, which made the transition to work from home easier than if I had to plan a field season or do laboratory work. However, it was difficult to stay focused and motivated with a disrupted work routine, a loss in sense of time, and loads of distractions.

The first month was the hardest to adjust into a new routine while stressing from the uncertainty of the growing pandemic situation. Days started to blur and I didn’t really give myself proper breaks in the week, so then every day became a struggle to stay productive. The frustration from slow days with error after error or writer’s block felt especially worse when working from home; the feeling of no progress became much more real. With a completely altered work environment, it was also difficult to adjust to the changes in interactions with classmates and professors. While video communication worked well most of the time, it was definitely not the same as sharing struggles or stories in the carrel or going up to professors’ offices to ask questions.

I prefer in-person presentations, but I have to admit that I enjoyed some of the benefits of presenting my master’s work at the leisure of my desk. I was able to give a talk internationally at a virtual bird nerd conference (North American Ornithological Conference) and they were very gracious to give me a presentation award! A benefit of the virtual conference was that I could also jump around to different sessions for various talks and watch recordings of ones I missed. I was also happy to stay at home with Mocha during the conference week (because I’m insanely in love with her I have separation anxiety when I travel out of town). I defended my thesis virtually as well. Traditionally I would’ve presented to my committee in person, with an audience, but by presenting through my laptop it felt more casual and it became accessible to folks who were outside of the province. It certainly feels weird to finish my master’s degree like this, but I’m relieved that this chapter of my life is done.

Because of video chats, I was still able to keep in touch with my parents in the states while my dad was in the hospital the last few months. He got an infection by his old head injury and needed to get his bone flap and shunt removed, and as his infection was treated, his cognitive function took a few steps backwards. Video communication when it worked was all we had to stay in touch, and it broke my heart that this time he was alone in the hospital since visitors were not allowed due to the covid restrictions. There were some close calls, but fortunately all of his surgeries went well and things are slowly improving. After multiple months in the hospital, he was able to come home just this past week! It’s still a long road ahead for him, but things are looking a bit more up.

I’ll resume work again in a week or so as a lab tech, finishing up additional analyses for the manuscripts from my master’s project. For now, I’m taking a much needed break, the first real vacation in two years. I hope to write blog posts more frequently in the future, and on more interesting subjects than me stressing about graduate school!

-Evelien