On March 11, 2020, Michigan State announced via email that they would move all classes online immediately following two positive COVID-19 cases in the state of Michigan.

In the year that's passed, there have been seismic shifts in every part of society as the virus has run rampant throughout the country. COVID-19 shut down schools, shut down businesses and added fuel to the fire of the political landscape, leading to nationwide protests and an armed insurrection.

The pandemic has flipped everyone's lives on their head, causing them to constantly adapt to the changing world around them.

"I just remember feeling very out of control because I'm very much someone that likes to be able to control stuff and that was a really tough thing," international relations and comparative cultures and politics freshman Hannah Woehrle said.

Schools were shut down, which forced students and businesses to learn the world of Zoom and virtual learning. The pandemic forced everyone inside to be socially-distanced, causing widespread mental health issues for people, especially students.

"You're going to class today, any day people love going in and feeling like they're learning something, but a lot of people lost their willpower to go," professional and public writing sophomore Emilio Zapata said.

The pandemic has produced the lowest moments in life for many people while they deal with being isolated and having to learn or work online.

"I felt like I was again losing that sense of control that I had always wanted and I felt I almost had put my life on pause," Woehrle said. "I think a lot of people have way more life-on-pause stories than this, but that was just a real disappointment."

The end of the pandemic is in sight with the emergence of three COVID-19 vaccines, but cases and the death toll continue to rise. The pandemic has lasted a year, changing every aspect of society with unmeasurable, lasting impacts on society moving forward.

Here's a look back at the past year — what life looked like in a pandemic.

MSU initially announced that in-person learning would be suspended to April 20, then resume on-campus for the remainder of the year. The decision followed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s state of emergency declaration after the first people in the state tested positive for COVID-19.

The state of emergency did not stop students from enjoying themselves one last time before heading home. Students flocked to the bars the night the university canceled classes, ignoring health and safety protocols laid out by the MSU and the state.

A day later, Michigan State’s basketball team learned that their season was over while preparing for the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis after the NCAA canceled the remainder of winter sports and the entirety of spring sports.

Businesses began to close their doors and set up shop online. Michigan State students migrated out of the city back to their hometowns, leaving East Lansing a ghost town.

The dog days of the pandemic were in full effect three weeks after the first case of COVID-19 hit Michigan. Students adapted to Zoom classrooms and living in isolation as new facts came out about the virus daily.

Whitmer extended the Stay at Home order through the end of April while COVID-19 continued to worsen in Michigan. Michigan State followed suit, extending virtual learning through the summer semester.

Even though there was widespread concern and little information about the virus at the time, people began to protest the Stay at Home orders and mask requirements. People flooded to Lansing for Operation Gridlock in mid-April to protest the shutdown of small businesses.

At the end of April, the protests returned to the Michigan Capitol for the Freedom Rally. Protestors, some armed, entered the Capitol building, once again to protest restrictions put in place to fight COVID-19.

The school year ended in the first week of May, and the graduating class became the first in school history to graduate virtually as Michigan State remained closed.

The summer began, but students were still trapped inside because of the virus. Study abroad trips were canceled and internships vanished as businesses remained closed.

The university began to move forward to prepare for the next year with the uncertainty of COVID looming constantly. Teresa Woodruff was appointed as the provost for academic affairs, and the university began research into COVID tests and vaccines.

Protests continued at the Capitol over Stay at Home orders, including Operation Haircut, where a barber from Owosso gave free haircuts to protesters.

Protests began to ramp up at the end of May, but for an entirely different reason. Following the death of George Floyd in the hands of the Minneapolis police department, protests erupted across the nation against police brutality.

Black Lives Matter protests escalated in June, and the conversation about civil rights in America reached a boiling point. People pushed for widespread change in policing and the unfair treatment of Black citizens in the criminal justice system.

In Lansing, protesters were tear-gassed and a city-wide curfew was implemented. The protests quickly changed to marches and speeches about love and peace, with the same goal in mind for change.

Inside the Capitol, the state government began to lift the restrictions on small businesses and gatherings as Michigan began to gear up to reopen. They entered Phase Four of the five-step process to reopen the state to stimulate the state economy. Restaurants and other small businesses began to open their doors once again with mask requirements.

Bars in East Lansing opened their doors and welcomed students in once again when restrictions were lifted. The reopening of Harper's Restaurant and Brewpub became a superspreader event, leading to over 100 people contracting COVID-19.

Michigan State remained closed but opened the door for student-athletes to return to campus for workouts while undergoing tests for COVID-19.

Bars did not remain open for long following the incident at Harper's. Whitmer closed all indoor bar service once again through an executive order because of the superspreader event in East Lansing.

The State of Emergency was extended again, and the original goal for the end of the pandemic in April began to feel like a distant memory. Mask restrictions and bans on indoor gatherings were put in place to try to curb the rising number of people infected in Michigan.

Michigan State began to prepare for the upcoming academic year with classes being entirely online. They prepared a limited amount of dorms for around 2,500 students that would be returning but kept the campus closed otherwise.

Athletes continued to practice and work through COVID restrictions and around positive tests among the athletes. However, the effort they were putting in came to a halt, when the Big Ten announced they would be canceling football in the fall.

The cases continued to climb in Michigan and around the country, and it started to become clear there was not an end in sight. Michigan State announced that the entirety of the fall semester would remain online and that most of the university would remain closed.

Students began to move back on campus as Michigan State started its first school year in a virtual setting. A fraction of the normal amount of students moved in while most of the student body remained off campus.

Cases continued to rise in East Lansing as students returned to campus, leading to increased restrictions from the university and city to try and stop students from spreading the virus.

The city of East Lansing forced mandatory quarantines for residents of 30 houses in East Lansing for their connection with COVID-19 cases, many of which were fraternities and sororities.

On the national level, the upcoming presidential election began to dominate the news cycle. Donald Trump and Joe Biden began to hold rallies across the country in the most heated campaign cycle in modern times.

The presidential campaign kicked into full swing in the month leading up to the election. The stark differences between Biden and Trump led to a bitter preelection process that divided Americans on many issues, especially the pandemic.

In Michigan, the anger and resentment toward Whitmer's handling reached a boiling point when a group of men were arrested for a plot to kidnap and execute the governor.

At MSU, administration introduced a COVID-19 early detection program for students and faculty to participate in. The "Spartan Spit Kit" allowed the university to determine the impact of COVID-19 in its own community through saliva testing.

On the gridiron, Michigan State embarked on its first season with new Head Coach Mel Tucker. The season was largely altered because of the pandemic, such as daily testing for all players and staff and regular cancellations and rescheduling because of COVID outbreaks. The team reached its apex on Halloween, beating rival Michigan on the road after a dismal start to the season.

The rest of the sports teams at MSU were not as lucky. Michigan State announced at the end of October that they would be eliminating the swimming and diving program following the 2021 season.

On the same day that swimming and diving was cut, Michigan State announced that they would not have spring break to discourage travel from students in the pandemic.

Election Day looked much different than in the past because a large number of people chose to vote via mail rather than in person due to the pandemic. Biden wound up winning the state of Michigan and eventually the whole election after a vote-counting process that lasted days.

The talk of the election did not disappear after Biden was announced as the winner. Trump filed lawsuits in states across the country, including Michigan, alleging voter fraud was the reason he lost.

The number of COVID cases began to climb exponentially as winter returned, leading to extended restrictions on gatherings for businesses. Tom Izzo tested positive for the virus in the weeks leading up to the start of the basketball season.

Despite the pandemic reaching its height, people became optimistic because of the announcement of two COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer.

The protests about the results of the election continued nationwide, including a Stop the Steal protest in Lansing. Misinformation continued to spread about the election and voting process, leading to further conflict between Democrats and Republicans.

Coronavirus cases continued to rise across the state, reaching over 16,000 confirmed cases in a day in early December. The state government continued its lockdown orders, keeping businesses closed.

Michigan State announced that they would be delaying the start of the spring semester by a week to comply with the state’s lockdown restrictions, pushing the start back to Jan. 19.

The discourse about a stolen election continued into 2021 and reached a head-on Jan. 6 when a large group of rioters broke into the U.S. Capitol building to try and overturn the results of the election.

The attempted insurrection did not lead to a change in the results of the election, and Biden was sworn in as president two weeks later.

Michigan State also began its spring semester by welcoming 3,800 students back to campus as they increased the number of in-person classes while the threat of COVID-19 loomed.

February started with Michigan State receiving the largest donation in school history from former Michigan State basketball player Mat Ishbia, totaling $32 million. Ishbia made the donation to improve athletic facilities and enhance university athletics.

Prep sports remained banned by the state government leading to more protests at the state Capitol from parents and students to reinstate contact sports. The Let Them Play protests led to high school sports being reinstated later in February.

The Larry Nassar scandal reared its ugly head at the end of the month once again, when former gymnastics coach John Geddert was arrested for human trafficking and sexual assault in an investigation tied to Nassar. Geddert died by suicide hours after the charges against him were announced.

A full year later, Michigan State has announced plans to reopen campus to hold 75% of classes in person in the fall.

The somber milestone of a year brought news that 21% of Michigan residents age 16 and up have at least received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Now with a light at the end of the tunnel, COVID restrictions put in place by the university are being lifted for students living on campus.

According to MSU Deputy Spokesperson Dan Olsen, the university has submitted an application through the state to become a vaccine provider to receive a supply.