Viewpoints: What we're looking forward to following the pandemic

With the Centers for Disease Control releasing guidelines that vaccinated individuals can congregate indoors without masks, the end of the pandemic seems closer than ever. 

Here are things the Editorial Board is looking forward to once that time comes:

Aditi Kharod, Editorial Board member:

I’m looking forward to watching a movie inside a movie theater. Any movie, it doesn’t matter! I’ll watch anything! I just want to reexperience buying an overpriced bucket of popcorn from Silverspot Cinema (or a reasonably-priced one at the Chelsea Theater) and watching something I’ve never seen before with a bunch of strangers. 

I am also looking forward to sitting inside a coffee shop for hours and just vibing. (Gray Squirrel Coffee Co., I’m looking at you!)

Caitlyn Yaede, Editorial Board member:

It has been almost a year since I was last in Chapel Hill, and the place I miss the most is Alpine Bagel. I am looking forward to standing in a line that stretches across the Union in between morning classes and ordering a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese. No bagel shop in my hometown even compares to Alpine. 

I'm counting down the days until it’s just me, my color-coded planner and a bagel in a booth in the Union, listening to the background noise of the crowded lobby and working on assignments (or at least pretending to).

Vance Stiles, Editorial Board member:

What I can’t wait for is the opening of road racing again. Everything from local 5Ks to the Boston Marathon went full virtual for the last year, and the virtual options just don’t have the same thrill or feel. 

There is nothing I love more than the race day experience: the butterflies in my stomach as I walk up to the start line and the feeling of finishing a race into a large crowd. With outdoor activities finally opening up, this oh-so-missed activity will soon make a return. 

Abbas Hasan, Editorial Board member:

I can’t wait for fall in Chapel Hill. There is nothing as stunning as Chapel Hill in November when all the trees change color and the weather is a perfect 65 degrees. The stress of upcoming finals disappears when we get to relax on the quad outside and take in all the views of campus. 

Warming up with coffee, going on a brisk walk and heading to the library to study is a stressful but refreshing time of the year. I am looking forward to a potentially normal fall semester.

Ben Rappaport, Editorial Board member:

I am looking forward to gaining a deeper appreciation for the small moments in life when I get to be around large groups of people. I can’t wait for the rainy days when everyone is packed in tightly on the bus together, or dodging traffic on the quad when seemingly the whole student body has class at 11:30. 

I want to be stuck behind the slow walkers who seemingly have nowhere to be, or feel embarrassed as I trip over a brick on my walk to class and feel everyone silently laugh at me. I long for these things that felt so mundane (or even annoying!) before, but are now just an opportunity to be in a crowd and not be flooded with pandemic anxiety.  

Rajee Ganesan, assistant opinion editor:

With UNC Football signing the 13th-ranked recruiting class for the upcoming year according to 247 Sports, Kenan Stadium is going to be one of the places to be for any home game in Chapel Hill. With the release of new CDC guidance, the hope for being able to sit in a student section for a 7 p.m. kickoff is stronger than ever. 

Once things settle down, I’m personally looking forward to having pregame tailgates and potentially watching UNC take the ACC next year.

JC Leser, Editorial Board member:

I can’t wait to finally be able to have the full UNC experience, from a packed Pit to a roaring Kenan Stadium and Dean Dome. I’ve lost the end of my senior year of high school and the beginning of my college experience to COVID-19, and it will be great to experience a school community as I did before the pandemic, but at UNC. 

Raymond Pang, Editorial Board member:

It’s gonna sound cliche, but what I’m looking forward to the most is normalcy — both on campus and in life. I actually want to be able to go to Chase and Lenoir and sit with my friends to eat together. 

Likewise, I also want to fully return to in-person instruction, even if it’ll most likely be more difficult than Zoom University. I just miss the little things, such as small talk with classmates or just bumping into people on the way to and from the classroom.

@dthopinion

opinion@dailytarheel.com