For a year and a half, I woke up at 7:30 am, turned on my computer to open a zoom link, and promptly fell back asleep. All of my assignments were graded with 100%, regardless of the quality of work or time of submission. Even on days where I did put in the effort to try and retain a fraction of what my teacher was saying, it took all of my energy to sit there and stare at a screen from 7:42 to 2:13. “We will just wait for a few more people to pop in…..let me try and share my screen here….” made me want to throw my computer out the window. Even when school did become “hybrid” it was almost worse. As someone who took the pandemic very seriously, sitting in class next to people who were out partying the night before was extremely stressful.
To say the least, my last real educational experience ended in March of 2020. Now, sitting fully in person and unmasked classes, we are back to “normal”. It should feel normal, and I should be happy, but I feel the opposite. I am highly aware of everyone’s proximity to me, especially as the “Freshman Plague” sweeps through the campus. Beyond that, coming from a year and a half with essentially no work to an environment of a normal workload, it feels twice as hard. Not only am I working on adjusting to living away from home for the first time, making friends and staying healthy, I also have to re-learn how to “do school”.
I was given my first lab report in the first week of school. I have not written a formal lab report since maybe 10th grade, let alone written a paper since my college application essay. I was given no rubric, outline, or general guidelines. I was told by upperclassmen that this professor was a tough grader, which naturally spiked my anxiety. Not to mention chemistry is the hardest class I have ever taken. I felt so out of place sitting down with a blank Google Doc in front of me, having no idea where to even begin. This was among one of the first times in a year and a half that I actually sat down to do real homework.
I am sure the professors understand the perspective of their students and the world that we had to live in. The pandemic wasn’t an individualized experience. However, I am unsure whether some professors truly understand how different this year is compared to our senior year. Not only is college a totally different academic experience regardless of a pandemic, but professors have to also consider the fact that most of us have not sat in a real classroom in a year and a half.
So what can we do to ease the pandemic transition? Self-care. It is important to remind yourself that this experience is not normal for anybody, and you are not alone. It is important to take the time to relax and destress. For me, that means reclining against my Husband pillow and binging “Friends” with a bowl of popcorn. COVID school and college have drastic differences and managing the transition can be a tricky process.