My name is Jared Feldman and I typically write the content for the College of Marin Athletics website. Given the current state of the world we are without our usual sports fix, but there is still plenty to write about. College of Marin has over a hundred athletes that have been forced to change their usual routine for both athletics and academia. I conducted an interview with the Beach Volleyball pair of Lara Perry and Jade Williams. The duo not only plays on the sand together, but also live together nearby College of Marin. Below are some excerpts from our discussion.

Jared Feldman (JF) - How are you guys doing given the state of everything?

Lara Perry (LP) - Overall? I would say pretty good. Better than most. Even though our situation is harder than most, I would probably think.

JF – How has the transition to online classes gone so far?

Jade Williams (JW) - Well, for me I thought I got assigned a lot more work.

LP - I'm very much an in-person learner. I don't have the attention span or self-discipline to be an online learner. So this has been really rough to adjust to. Even with like the minimal things I have to do. Yeah. And compared to Jade at least and it's just like hard.

JF - I know for you Lara, with your interest being an architecture, there’s some stuff you can do remotely but like a lot of that seems like it's more of like an in person type of learning.

LP - But I mean who knows, the next semester might not be architecture cause I'm at this rate, I'm not liking it so much. But now most of them are okay being online are pretty well adapted to it. It's just harder for me to do readings and stuff like that when I have to test online and all that.

JF – Do you all have scheduled class times? Or is it just like turning it into online work and respond when you can?

JW - Mine's a lot more like why teachers are using the exact class time though. We have zoom and they're just going that way.  

LP - I'll say most of my classes, I only have one that for sure uses zoom, but that's only once a week. The other one teaches online too. She kind of just changed it to that format. And then if we have questions, we have this time frame to see.

JF - Anything interesting that you both are doing for fun while sheltering?

LP - I'm planting a whole bunch of new indoor plants and herbs.

JF - What kind of herbs are you planting?

LP - I'm starting with like simple herbs at first, like I have Rosemary starting and then I'm going to grow sage, oregano, and when I feel set on the balcony of the growth peppers and stuff.

JF - Are you expanding your culinary repertoires? So not a lot of cooking or just like standard issue stuff?

JW - No, not for me. I don't really, yeah, I'm a cook that much.

LP - I try to take more, usually it's like Jade pull stuff out of the fridge. He's like, Hey, do you want to make this?

JW - And I'm like, sure.

LP - We try to stock up and even though we're supposed to completely stay home, it's like the grocery store is the only way we can get out. So like okay if we miss something on the last trip and you're like, Oh I had to go to the store. That's a bummer.

JF - I presume you're not feeling great about the season being canceled. How are you kind of taking that?

JW - I mean it really, it's, it's really sucky but I heard that we get our eligibility back.

JF - That is correct. Yes, and it was going to be be my next question if you'd heard that. They’ve ruled that all spring sports are going to get their year of eligibility back.

JW - I was like really excited to get fit there and like be in that. Um, I dunno, I'm just like, our team dynamic was just so fun to be around. It was just like relaxing to go there and play and now it's like what, what do we do now?

LP - Yeah, I get highly competitive with myself, I should say. Like volleyball has always been fun to me, but I get very like I'm not doing it right. Do it again. Like I want to do it right. Right. I get kind of competitive with myself like that. So I was frustrated more or less than it was like cut off short cause I felt like I was making progress and I was just like, okay, cool. So now I have nothing. So I'm like, what do I do?

JF - Right. And if things are lucky, you'd be able to get back on the volleyball court in like June maybe?

JW - Hmm. Probably it was lucky. Best case scenario. Yeah.

JF I know the both of you have lived together for almost a year now as it is, but how has it been being sheltered together?

JW - We find ways to separate ourselves and we also, I don't know, I get along pretty well.

LP - I felt really bad for her cause I'm a very like chatty person and usually I have an arrangement of people to like attach to you and talk to you. For now it's just her and so I follow a lot when I shouldn't hands up. It's okay.

JF - What was your guys' kind of thought about staying here versus heading home to your respective families?

JW - I didn't want to go back home just because, I don't know, it's better up here. I live with one other person versus like a household people. So my chances of getting sick were like a lot less.

LP - And back home for me. One of my parents, um, had surgeries a few months ago so she's not quite strong immune system. And then I have a younger sister who is a toddler and I didn't want to like be there and then go out and potentially pick up something and then yeah, I didn't want to be there and be tempted cause all my friends would be back home from out of area schools and then hang out with them and all that stuff. So I kind of shut myself up for that reason.

JF - That’s a very wise, responsible, mature choice considering everything and now you guys can just really bond and, or drive each other crazy.

LP - I give it another week.

JF - Well, I won't take up any more of your time. Thank you guys. Stay safe and stay sane.