Transitioning into college is a process for everyone. Starting your freshman year of college during a pandemic is even more of a difficult transition. Older family members and friends would give you their advice on starting college, but they didn’t know what to say this time because they never went through going to college during a pandemic. Going into my sophomore year at Jefferson is exciting, but also scary. It’s like starting freshman year all over again. I got to know a few people remotely because of the classes we would take together and let me tell you, I felt like I was online dating. It’s so exciting to start talking to new people, but actually hanging out and forming a friendship didn’t happen in my case because of COVID. I didn’t live on campus and did everything at home, except for in-person labs every other week. We all had to adjust to online school and since I got so used to doing everything online, I feel like I forgot how to take classes in person. I want to share some advice on transitioning back to in-person school, which I will be following this upcoming school year as well.
- Establish a morning routine!
Not everyone is a morning person and that’s ok! Learning remotely during the 2020-21 school year was tough because I think many of us can relate to waking up a couple of minutes before our first class of the day. Going back to in-person classes, we’re going to have to get ready/look presentable and we may dread that. However, establishing morning rituals can give us a good start to our day and ultimately a better learning experience.
- Don’t be shy!
Teamwork is important, especially in a college classroom. College gets harder each year and having a group of friends/study buddies may make our lives easier. Quarantine and online school may have engraved a type of “anti-social” mindset. In my experience, and others I know who were in the same boat with learning remotely, we had some sort of laziness with going out/being social. Going back to school in person gives us an opportunity to make ourselves known and build friendships we didn’t get to last year.
- Say Yes!
Speaking about being anti-social, it was easy to say no to going out because we all had the excuse of COVID. Well, that excuse is not going to work forever. Say yes to that classmate inviting you to eat lunch at Kanbar. Say yes to going out and just getting to know people. It’s scary right now because of COVID and it’s variants. Your health is important, but do not let it get in the way and miss out on the beginning of possible friendships. Being social is mentally healthy, so say yes to new experiences!