I’ll be a sophomore at UT this year, but since I was on Zoom University all of last year, I still feel like a (confused) freshman. The last time I went to school in person was when I was a senior in high school, and now that almost all of my classes are on campus this semester, the transition is taking some getting used to. Here are the four things that have surprised me most about going back to school in person:
1. There are SO many people on campus
UT is a big school with tens of thousands of students. Now that classes are back in person, all of these students are back to walking around campus. Last year, the campus seemed almost like a ghost town since the buildings and streets were so quiet and mostly empty. Now, it’s the complete opposite, and it can sometimes feel overwhelming with how packed everything is all of a sudden.
2. Walking eveywhere takes up A LOT of time
What I’m most grateful for about Zoom University was that I could go to class wherever I wanted. I could wake up from a nap and be right on time for a class just minutes later. Now, I have to factor in how long it’ll take for me to walk to a building from my apartment so I can get to class on time. I spend about 45 minutes to an hour every day just walking, and I haven’t even mentioned the Austin heat!
3. Lectures aren’t like they’re shown in the movies
Not all of these surprises are bad! I was super nervous on my first day of school because I would be attending a big, in-person lecture for the first time ever. What I knew about college lectures mostly came from what I had seen in movies and tv shows or what I had heard from my older friends. I thought that being in a lecture hall would feel constricting and dull. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that being in a lecture hall is just like going to any other class, and my professors do a great job at keeping the lecture engaging the entire class time. Also, now that I’m actually surrounded by classmates, I’ve gotten to talk to the people that sit near me and have met new friends!
4. It’s weird meeting people in-person after only seeing them over Zoom
One of my biggest concerns about Zoom University last year was not being able to make new friends in college. Going to online social events and meetings for student orgs helped me get to know people and learn new names and faces, but getting to actually meet people in person is a whole different thing. I finally got to meet some fellow HerCampus Texas members a few weeks ago, and it felt like I was meeting them for the first time ever, even though we already knew each other from Zoom meetings. I still have this surreal feeling whenever I see someone I know from an online class on campus or meet people from my orgs, but I’m still excited to see what this semester has in store for me!