Sometimes, when life gets stressful, you just need to b*tch about all the little things that annoy you. And by that, I mean that I love to complain. What can I say? It’s cathartic and helps me blow off steam – especially in the midst of a stressful semester at Pitt. However, with fall 2020 being extremely different than any semester we’ve ever experienced, I’ve realized how stupid some of our complaints about college life really are. So, here are the top 10 most common University of Pittsburgh student complaints that you won’t be hearing again for a while.
- “Cardiac hill/the Chevron steps are such a pain”
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With many buildings still closed or operating on limited hours, we have less reason to make the hike up to upper campus. I genuinely miss my pre-workout warmup of walking up the steepest incline on campus!
- “I couldn’t find a seat in Hillman/Posvar”
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From what I’ve heard, these two popular study spots are practically ghost towns. You should have no trouble finding spots to sit in them now, just don’t forget your mask!
- “I just completely drained my bank account at G-Door/Hem’s/Mario’s/[insert your bar of choice here]”
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Although bars are reopening, a lot of students still feel unsafe gathering in such enclosed spaces. Even if you are going to bars, it’s just not the same as past semesters!
- “I’m homesick”
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For some students, returning to campus wasn’t the move for this semester. After being stuck at home since March and continuing to stay home for the fall, you might be kicking yourself for ever feeling homesick while at Pitt!
- “I got sunburnt/rained on at the football game (and we lost)”
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Ah, to be roughing it out in the elements at Heinz Field… Rain or shine, win or lose, we always had a good time wrapping our arms around each other and belting “Sweet Caroline.” Why did we ever complain about this?
- “The seats in Cathy are so uncomfortable”
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Although it was hard to sit through an hour or more in those ancient wooden chairs, I would take that over a Zoom class any day. Having a lecture in a Nationality Room was one of the many privileges we enjoyed as Pitt students – I can’t believe I ever took it for granted!
- “I don’t want to walk all the way to my club meeting in this weather/this late at night”
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Picture this: it’s a snowy night in December, you just finished a long day of classes and now have to leave the comfort of your room to walk to a late-night club meeting. Although it was easy to complain about the walk back then, I bet we’re missing getting to meet with our clubs in person right about now.
- “I just wasted the whole day in Hillman on my phone/talking to friends and didn’t get any work done”
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This is pretty self-explanatory – no more Sundays spent on the ground floor catching up with friends and ignoring assignments. Although, a new complaint may have replaced this one: “I didn’t pay attention to any of my Zoom class.”
- “The sound of drunk people on a Friday night/the sound of ROTC kids early in the morning woke me up”
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The streets of Oakland are eerily quiet nowadays. With that being said, you might be getting some good sleep now!
- “There’s too much construction on Bigelow”
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Okay, this is one that we can keep complaining about. The transformation of Bigelow Boulevard, which was supposed to be complete this summer, has been pushed back to at least October. But, with no reason to visit Cathy or the WPU, there’s virtually no foot traffic there anyway.
Moral of the story? Be appreciative and use this time to look forward to things you’ve taken for granted in the past! In the grand scheme of things, all our complaints may have been a little petty.