As a sophomore who’s experiencing her first semester of real college- things are overwhelming. Elbow to elbow lecture halls, long lines at all the on campus dining, a disappearance of open seats at the library, all of these things feel so foreign in comparison to the covid semester all of us freshman experienced last year.
This adjustment is unsettling for so many; going from the isolation of covid over the past year to the hustle and bustle of normal life again is a startling new reality. This transition for me personally has been stressful, I actually felt for the first time in a while not able to keep up with my schedule as things finally started opening up again. Commitments and stressors and interactions we hadn’t paid any mind to since March of 2020 are a shocking reality once again. Social batteries and obligations have changed for so many of us during this pandemic, and this unprecedented time has been far from a vacation despite our time outside of the workplace and classroom- this pandemic has been stressful.
Despite the stressful transition this school year might be for so many of us, this route towards normalcy couldn’t be better. The reopenings of the things we used to love to do prior to the pandemic can be such an amazing outlet for us to enjoy and make the most out of our new year. New people on campus to meet and interact with, in person experiences to make the most of our time in class with our peers, clubs and student involvement outlets to keep us entertained and engaged, the ability to cheer on our sports teams once again, and overall a returning sense of normalcy that we’ve all been long awaiting.
For me, I’ve been trying to make the most of the college experience time that I still have left and assimilate myself back to the normal lives we had before the pandemic- cautiously of course. The ability to reconnect with the people I missed during covid, and overall making the most of my time here at NC State and reap all of the benefits this school has to offer are just some of the many things we have to look forward to with this crazy but exciting school year.