I have been looking forward to going to college since I could remember. I had a really hard time in high school and wanted to start anew somewhere nobody knew me as anything other than what I am currently. My mother said to me before I left for school, "This is the last time in your life where you will have this much freedom with this little responsibility. Don't miss out". The reality, however, is that this semester was unlike the experience of any other.
I moved into my dorm a week before classes started in an attempt to familiarize myself with campus and maybe make some friends before school started. In my experience and the experience of other students I've met over Zoom classes, it was damn near impossible to meet people or expand one's horizons because of the COVID-19 regulations. Obviously, these need to be in place and are vital to ensuring that we actually have a campus to come back to, but I spent the majority of my time on campus alone. Typically, there are dozens of mixers and orientation events and parties to introduce you to other students but without these, meeting new people and making new friends was really difficult.
Once classes started, I realized that this semester would be uniquely challenging in terms of academics. My classes themselves weren't too bad, but the constant cycle of submitting assignments and discussion posts and moving onto the next left me feeling like I wasn't really learning much at all. I didn't know my professors or my classmates and the whole learning experience felt too abstract and disconnected to motivate me. Libraries and cafes were closed, or at minimal capacity, so I was left to study alone in my room. Teachers and students both felt the stress of striving for normalcy in a time that anything but, and on most days I felt like I was just playing a part.
People my age and incoming freshman for the next couple of years will most likely get a diminished version of the college experience until all of this is behind us. I haven't gone to a college party or walked my classes or met new people. When I talk with other people in my grade, there is a common sentiment of being sick of having things taken from us. I know it seems silly to be complaining about my college experience during a global pandemic that has claimed thousands of lives, but all the isolation and loss we have suffered throughout the lockdowns will have severe impacts on mental health and social interactions for years to come.
