As my junior year comes to an end, I can’t help but reflect on the past three years of college before moving on to the final chapter. It sure has been a rollercoaster. This cohort of college students has dealt with something never been seen before. We’ve navigated our college experience while worrying about a pandemic and dealing with its repercussions. I joined Her Campus when I was at a breaking point. I was feeling stuck living in my childhood home while my friends at other schools continued to live a semi-normal life in their dorms and going to class. It was extremely hard to make connections and meet new people while being physically divided, but Her Campus helped fill this void. The weekly meetings and events via zoom were some of the few interactions I had with college-aged peers throughout the week. I will be forever grateful to Her Campus during the fall of my sophomore year for giving me the opportunity to meet friends and write about things that I loved.
Sophomore spring, I was back in Amherst — thank god, but like many other UMass students I still felt housebound with completely virtual classes and limited access to dining halls or the rec center. Again, Her Campus was one of the few groups I was a part of that worked to create meaningful events via Zoom that allowed members to make new friends, despite the continuing impact of the pandemic. I specifically remember attending the coffee hours and leaving with an overwhelming feeling of freshness after talking to new people and having new conversations. Whether it was writer’s block, questions about an on-campus job, or trouble navigating friendships, there was a place and a person in Her Campus to talk about this with.
This past year, my junior year, has been my favorite of college so far. I think going through sophomore year, isolated and lonely, has truly taught me to not take anything for granted. Her Campus, and UMass Amherst as a whole, returned completely in person and we were able to live life freely again. In-person events and actually seeing people’s faces brings a whole new level of connections that just isn’t possible via Zoom. I’ve enjoyed being able to connect the small rectangle of someone’s face I saw on Zoom to their body and personality as a whole walking around campus. Her Campus truly has one of the friendliest student bodies I’ve ever been a part of, and I love saying hello to members throughout the day, especially if they’re wearing the pink Her Campus hoodie!
Lastly, I thank Her Campus for giving me the space to write about whatever I want, whenever I want. Looking back at my collection of articles, I know these will be really cool to read someday post-grad when I’m reminiscing on my time at UMass. I hope to continue writing informally, even if they’re not published via Her Campus and summarizing all of the emotions and experiences that life has to offer.
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