As much as I hated it, college during the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t that bad. Before going into it, as an incoming first year student, I had no idea what to expect. I was left in the dark on a lot of things and left to stress and wonder on what it will be like. The closest thing I experienced to a college course was AP Literature and AP Government, but even those felt a bit lack luster. At some point, all of that worrying left me, and it turns out that it wasn’t as horrible as I was making it seem. Getting through my first year of college during this dreadful pandemic has allowed me to take away three things:
1. Getting My Feet In The Water Before I Jump In – Everyone has asked me what it feels like to have a majority of the aspects of regular college life. Every single time, I responded, “I look at it like putting your feet in the water before jumping in; Testing the waters per say, to see if I’m ready for this sort of thing.” By going through this, I have seen the type of workload that I will have in college. It’ll definitely be different to walk more than five steps to class, but I can now take an educated guess on how I should gauge my workload for next year.
2. I Saved A Lot Of Money – Since I did not live on campus, and did not need a food card or anything, a lot of the costs for college got cut. I think at the most, I paid $900/semester with financial aid. Plus, since I had ample free time, I decided to pick up a new job. On top of all the money I’m saving, I have an income as well.
3. Socializing Is A Lot Harder Now, But There’s Going To Be Twice As Many People On Campus That Are Looking To Make New Friends – I can’t speak for everyone, but COVID college has made socializing so much harder. Professors tried to put us in situations in order for us to make friends, but after those interactions, I can barely remember my classmates’ names. Plus, sometimes people don’t even talk in breakout rooms, which made me feel even more awkward than I already was. But one thing to highlight is that next fall, there’s going to be a lot more people than usual that are trying to make friends, so it should be much easier. A lot of people are in the same boat next year.
Written By: Owen Myers
Edited By: Crystal Lord