But as the semester wore on, maintaining a physical distance became easier to comply with, though at times challenging due to my bad eyes when I peered over a student’s shoulder (at a distance) to try and help them with an assignment. While ideas could still be exchanged and laughter emitted through masks, students couldn’t work in close proximity on small group activities, whisper to each other as I was lecturing, or peer at one another’s phones at something that just couldn’t wait till after class. In hindsight, there should have been a warning label on that classroom floor next to the ‘6-feet distance’ tape — “while staying physically distant may save your life, it is hazardous to your emotional health.”