After a year of taking online classes, I am officially burned out. I hope that other people can agree with me when I say that this semester was a struggle. I was so mentally and emotionally drained, and I couldn’t find a lot of support. There have been studies that look at the impact of online learning. One study showed that online classes did less to encourage student success. That could have been from the professors unable to switch their style of teaching or this entire situation. Either way, the transition to Zoom university was one that I didn’t expect.
This semester, in particular, put a tool on both me and my grades. I felt like I was a machine that wasn’t retaining information. For the first time, I would leave classes earlier because I mentally could not handle sitting in a class. Not to mention that a lot of my assignments felt like busy work.
Now that classes plan to be in person, I find myself looking forward to walking across campus and sitting in a lecture hall. The hope is that I would be able to be present and excited to be in a classroom again. I am also happy to interact with others, even though I am slightly nervous about loosening restrictions. I think that many of us are waiting to hear what Texas A&M and other universities are going to say about loosening restrictions. The best thing that we can do is continue to practice healthy habits, like washing hands and remaining at a safe distance from one another.
Being someone who likes to establish social relationships and works best when I feel like someone can catch me on Pinterest while working, this year has knocked me back a few steps from being able to have social skills. Normally, I can make a friend in most of my classes. And usually, we can form a common bond whenever it comes to the class. So, I am crossing my fingers and hoping that I don’t make a complete fool of myself when we are back in classrooms.
With all of this in mind, I am glad that this semester is finally over. Now that I finished my last final, I have some time to relax and refresh myself before starting classes all over again. I hope you can do the same, practice self-care, and keep yourself safe before starting a new semester or job.