(Disclaimer: this was posted a couple of months ago on the other platform)

What will the future hold when it comes to the virtual world? Since March, much of the world has been living a virtual reality modifying our lives, workplaces, and homes into untouchable spaces through the internet and our screens. We have learned to get creative and work remotely in unexpected ways through professions and education that we may have thought could not be conducted remotely.How will life adjust, and will we ever go into the office 5 days a week, work 9am – 5pm, return to uncomfortable clothes and brushing our hair? We see memes circulating in social media, making jokes about how people start to drink wine earlier in the day, spend most of their time on zoom, and revamp their homes – we should consider what our future realities will look like. Will we revert back to our old ways or will this modify our future for good? Have we created what we thought was impossible, to be possible – which is referred to as the “new normal.”

Personally, though we have been disconnected, I do feel overly connected over Zoom. The zoom happy hours and events became overwhelming and my posture was becoming worse. I think chiropractors and physical therapists will definitely be in demand after COVID restrictions are lifted.

When thinking about the CHI initiative, I realized after the first rapid development challenge that  we need to take initiative to put effort into teamwork. I noticed that the more side meetings are done to do projects, the more enjoyable and productive it really is. As I sat today in a “Zoom room” with my colleagues Lillian Young and Sari Saba-Sadiya we talked about what we would like to do for our project in January. It resulted in us talking about the historical role of animals in espionage. It felt as real as us sitting in the classroom getting sidetracked looking up different links and sharing them with one another. We sat there talking about our family, education, interests, politics, joking, and laughing.

The beginning of CHI was challenging, I felt alone when we separated to do our own work, when we did group work, and even when we reconvened, especially since coding is new for me. Personally, I did not find it as the most productive way to learn and collaborate on a group project that is already being molded into a virtual space. As time goes on, and we take the time to work/meet with our groups more, it has become better and more enjoyable and I think we will continue to make the best of it as we would have in person. 

Now I will share some of the headlines of animals we discussed who were lured to be a part of espionage.

BBC News article 29 April 2019 Norway finds ‘Russian spy whale’ off Arctic coast https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48090616

The Guardian, 26 January 2016 
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/26/vulture-lebanon-spying