As our last semester of online school (hopefully) approaches its end, I think it is important to reflect on some of the positives it has brought us. While it is easy to dwell on all the negatives of online school, it is important to remember to be grateful for education in general! I hope with all my being that we will be able to be in person and on campus next year. So, with that in mind, I would like to reflect on this past online year as we begin to say goodbye and look at the positive aspects it has brought us.
Firstly, if it weren’t for the online semester, I wouldn’t have spent as much time as I did with my roommates. I know many people can relate to this. This was probably the best thing that this online semester has given us students. For my situation, this was the first year living with new roommates. The time we would have spent separately seeing other people, going out to meetings, events and hitting the bars was instead replaced with time together! Roommate drinking nights, painting CDs and movie nights were the highlights of my experience and these things brought us closer together as roommates. There were also the hours on hours on hours of playing among us in our living room.
Second off, this online semester really stressed the importance of taking breaks. The need to rejuvenate from doing school on a screen for five hours straight was very prominent. Hot girl walks became all the rage and so did a focus on getting outside for some fresh air. Exercise and new hobbies were picked up and enjoyed as a time to relax. The need for breaks became essential this year and it wouldn’t have been so obviously needed if not for the hours of sitting down in front of a computer. The art of taking breaks will definitely be an essential lesson learned from online school that we can take with us to in-person semesters.
Lastly, let us not forget the new experience of learning from your bed! I mean seriously, that is probably the thing I will miss the most. On days when you just couldn’t be bothered to wake up for that 8 am class so you set your alarm for 7:55 am and just rolled over and went to class! I mean come on, class in your pajamas is just one of a kind. RIP to lazy learning.
Online schooling ultimately allowed us to learn how to be more responsible, flexible and patient. It taught us how to adapt to different challenges thrown our way! Though it has been a stressful and difficult semester, online schooling was certainly not the end of the world. Although there have been plenty of positives to online schooling, I cannot wait to get back on campus, sit in a lecture hall, study in the library and drink some Frank’s coffee!