Friendships are never easy. It takes time, effort, and love to build a relationship with anyone especially those that are worth keeping around. Once the pandemic hit us in march of 2020 we were unable to see our friends as easily as we were used to. College was cancelled, in-door dining was cancelled, masks were worn, and we were then put into quarantine.
Reality hit us and we were faced with new challenges and obstacles that we had never seen before. This was a new type of long distance that everyone had to take into consideration.
Social distancing meant that we were only allowed to stick to hanging out with our families and no longer able to hang out with our friends like most college kids usually spend their nights and weekends. During the months of quarantine, we found a new love for virtual hangouts. This meant netflix parties, zoom bingo, and lots of throwbacks on social media.
This was the new reality of finding time to spend time with your friends even if you couldn’t actually be together.
Although quarantine is technically over and things are slowly starting to change to fit this new reality again, we are still faced with long distance friendships. We are unable to see as many people as we used to a year ago today. Social distancing and masks are still required and the number of people per group is still small.
We are forced to face this new venture when dealing with friendships. That being said, it’s important to remember that some people may not be comfortable seeing you in person but others might be. It is also important to stay in contact with those you feel you have not been able to talk while going through this pandemic.
Now specifically relating to college kids, every situation is different. Some students are currently living at school but participating in hybrid or zoom classes. Others are still at home for the semester while only participating in online classes. My home friends and I all have different situations with each of our schools.
This makes it difficult to stay in contact and keep up with each other’s lives. One thing that does really help is facetime. We do live different lives and have different schedules but we are still able to take time out of our day to talk to each other and catch up on everything we missed.
Being at school has not been easy, we have way more restrictions compared to my first semester at Penn State. A big part of making friends was through walking to class and having in person interactions. This has all changed through the shift to remote learning.
Most people do not interact or participate the same way we would if we were in a classroom. It is much harder to meet people and keep steady relationships from my apartment bedroom. I have learned that it is so important to reach out to people and keep those friendships blooming if you are interested in keeping that friendship.
Normally, my favorite way to spend time with friends is by finding new places to eat in State College.
Friendships are never easy, but being in a pandemic does not mean things should change. This should be the main time that you find people you know are always gonna be there for you no matter what.
Making long lasting friendships is an important part of college, and the memories we have all made in the past year will never be forgotten. This pandemic has forced us to realize what is best for us and how the future will look if we take it into our own hands.