Let’s be real: COVID-19 blows. There’s no question that a global pandemic changed everybody’s lives, but it also changed the experiences people have for landmark times in their lives. One key experience is freshman year of college. As a junior right now, I can’t help but compare my freshman year to what first-years are experiencing now. However, I wouldn’t say that it’s all bad. Here are 5 takes on the pros of freshman year during COVID from my perspective as a junior in college:
- You probably don’t have to experience the dreaded 8 am
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Waking up for an 8 am every week almost single-handedly derailed my freshman year. I would have given absolutely anything to have the option to take my class in my bed when I couldn’t manage to drag myself out. So if you’re a freshman, consider yourself lucky to even have the option! Us washed up upperclassmen ENVY you for that.
- If you’re living in a dorm (at UConn at least!), you get a SINGLE
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Don’t fret about not having a roommate. Do you know how many times the words “I wish I had my own room” were uttered freshman year pre-COVID? You don’t have to deal with the horrible roommate horror stories, the struggles of wanting some alone time, waking up to another person’s alarm clock at random times, weird schedules, and so much more. You’re getting a single for the price of a double… how can you complain about that? It’s a luxury plenty of upperclassmen would have ~killed~ for freshman year.
- You’re not sweating in a crowded basement at a party
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If COVID has given you anything, it’s the luxury of not being jam-packed in a sweaty basement like sardines for a few hours while dancing to music that will probably do permanent damage to your eardrums. Instead, you get chill hangs with your friends, maybe head over to ~The Patch~, and can still meet a ton of people (socially distanced). Outdoor hangs or being in the upstairs of a house instead is an option many a college student wishes they had. Believe me when I say that the words “why do we only party in gross basements?” is another phrase that was uttered far too much freshman year pre-COVID. Soak it up while it lasts!
- You get to do take-out from the dining hall
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I cannot confirm or deny if I ever tried to bring Tupperware to the dining hall freshman year so I could take some food to-go… or even sneak out a little plate. I can’t confirm or deny if I was ever caught and called out afterward either. However, I wouldn’t call it a hardship to have to grab your d-hall meals as takeout. Oftentimes, I would have to either buy food somewhere or skip meals because I didn’t have time to sit at the dining hall and eat. You don’t really lose much by getting your food to-go: you don’t have to deal with the nerves of eating by yourself at a table if no one is around to eat with (or the opposite- feeling pressure to have to eat with someone!), and you can still eat with friends either way!
- You never have to fight it out for a spot on the treadmill
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Count your blessings that 1.) you get to use the new state-of-the-art rec center and 2.) you don’t have to battle it out for use of the equipment. When I was a freshman, we were still working out in the old rec center, which would not be able to fit probably a fraction of the number of people the current rec center can with the new COVID guidelines. AND, being a freshman living on campus, you automatically get to use the gym. A large portion of upperclassmen live off-campus, and if they don’t have classes in person, can’t use the gym at all– aka, you get top priority right now as a freshman (which was never really the case in the past). And, with these guidelines, you don’t have to worry about showing up to the gym for a quick run on the treadmill or elliptical only to find that they’re ALL in use, since a ton fewer people are going.
So don’t think too much about the what-ifs and why’s. Enjoy your freshman year, because even though it’s different than what you expected, there is PLENTY of pro’s to take away from all of this. Now go make the most out of fall 2020 with what you have because it’s still pretty great.