Being back at home definitely is a blessing, but of course there’s moments where I miss Riverside. Since I have so much free time, I’ve been reflecting on what I miss most about it. I miss the way I could set my own schedule and had to take care of myself. I miss being able to run into friends walking through the HUB on my way to work, hanging out with my co-workers in the break room, going to the SRC, and being able to appreciate our beautiful campus.
While I think back of what I miss doing, I also have been thinking out some of the things I haven’t had a chance to do yet while in Riverside. Here’s some Riverside activities I definitely want to try as soon as campus is opened back up and we’re done with social distancing.
1. Hike the “C”
I was so close to doing this my first year! My friends and I planned to go up on a Sunday morning. However, I woke up with a nasty stomach bug and knew I wasn’t down to make the hike without any nearby toilets. Also, I think it’s such a cute tradition that if you hike to the “C” you’ll pass your finals. I might need that especially after being away from “real” school for so long!
2. Visit the Botanical Gardens
Once for Intro to Entomology, we went to the very outskirts of the Botanical Garden to check out the trees bugs ate and saw some snails along the way. It was more like the closed off part of the gardens, so I don’t really count this as a visit. I know there’s a rose garden and some local vendors that occasionally come, so this would be a good photo op and nice way to get outside.
3. Participate in an IM
I signed up for the Intramural Sports emails my second year, but still haven’t joined a team or anything like that (whoops). Being an athlete in high school, I would always become nostalgic when attending games for soccer, volleyball, and softball. This would be something I want to at least try once just for old time’s sake.
4. Attend more events
I used to make time my first year to go to sports events, workshops, and other extracurricular activity events UCR holds. Going into my senior year, I want to try to volunteer more and go to more on-campus events. I want to try to get involved more with other groups I’m in instead of focusing on only one.
Once we’re able to go back, I can hopefully do these things back on campus. Until then, I’ll be trying to get used to remote learning and adjusting to life at home.