Starting University in a Pandemic
By: Emma Rose
Tags: Students, Coronavirus, Education, UK, Universi

Leaving home and moving to “uni” as we call it in the UK, aka “college” for my American friends, is often a defining point in your life. Its a time for making new friends, experiencing new things and growing up a little bit as you take that first step towards “adulting”. I’d heard many stories of the famed freshers week — those initial days of settling in when becoming besties with the girl in front of you in the queue for the club is normal or running around campus desperately trying to find the right room for your welcome lectures whilst more than slightly hungover is commonplace. It all sounded so exciting! I’ve never been a hugely extroverted person and often prefer to meet new people in smaller, more intimate settings but this time I was eager to connect with the diverse range of strangers that were also experiencing the big wide world for the first time with me.

However, it seems the universe had a different plan for this year. The Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world and reached the little island I call home in late March, drastically changing my own and so many others’, plans for 2020. Maybe I was too optimistic, but initially, I thought that we would be passed the worst of it by September, when I was due to start university. I still had dreams of dancing in a crowded club, sitting in grand lecture theatres and chatting up that cute guy from the library when you run into him in the bar later. I thought, “So where were you during the lockdown?” would become a good conversation starter when all the other classics had been used rather than a reminder of a shared experience which no-one actually wants to be reminded of.

Unfortunately, that was not to be the case. Like most students across the UK, the majority of my teaching this semester was online through prerecorded lecture videos and zoom classes; local restrictions meant I couldn’t go to clubs/bars and meeting others outside of my flat who became my new “household” was only possible outside.

The morning I left was bright and sunny. After packing up the car with way too much stuff, I was filled with nerves for more than the typical reasons. I worried how I would cope with motivating myself during online learning, meeting new people on video calls instead of in person and finding “my crowd” when there couldn’t be any crowds. Arriving on campus and finding my flat was a quite stressful experience due to delays in the “moving-in slot” I had had to book previously to help keep everything socially distanced. Maybe that’s why I was very relieved to meet the people I would be living with for the next year, so rushed through the goodbyes to my family. In hindsight, it would have been nice to spend just a little longer appreciating the moment I flew the nest, but escaping my mum’s barely contained tears (which definitely would have set me off as well) might have been for the best.

During my first few weeks, I joined more than enough zoom quizzes and socials — which, no matter how many times you do them, never become less awkward; ate ice cream in the rain for an excuse to talk to new people and spent 10 days self-isolating after coming into close contact with a friend who tested positive for Covid. By Halloween, I had experienced the joys of trying to complete a group project despite never having met the other students and got lost in the library’s one way system too often to count.

So far, my university experience had been anything but typical. I had yet to go to any of the clubs that the older students I met raved about from pre-Covid days or fully appreciate the benefits of living surrounded by other students in my halls. And it wasn’t going to change. In November, the UK went back in to lockdown to help stop the spread of the second wave of the coronavirus.

These new restrictions might have made my time away from home much harder — and for many that was the case. Student’s mental health is a topic often overlooked, and there’s no doubt that coronavirus restrictions, although necessary, haven’t had a positive impact on wellbeing. But personally, these restrictions forced me to make the most of every opportunity I had to build connections with others.

I met people I probably never would have before. I built habits I never would have, such as running regularly (I was that desperate to get outside). So, after finishing what can only be described as the weirdest first semester that anyone has experienced, I’m optimistic.

Don’t get me wrong, there are things I am eager to leave behind. Online learning isn’t easy for anyone, especially for a major procrastinator like me. And I’m lucky to have good access to technology so I can easily complete the work I need to. I’d also love to be able to casually pop over to the flat next door just to chat without worrying about breaking restrictions, and join the different music clubs or sporting teams I’m interested in (virtual sailing races aren’t quite the same).

But I am happy. I’ve made good friends, found my feet and settled in to a new city which now feels a bit more like home. I’ve learnt to look on the bright side, and make the most of every chance I’m given.

Now, sitting back on my bed in my parents house, I’m eager to start next semester — even if it won’t be too different to the last. Because if I’ve discovered anything over the last 9 months, it’s that life has a funny habit of carrying on. I don’t mean to come across as super deep and metaphorical, I’m not that type of person. 2020 hasn’t been the year most of us hoped for, but 2021 is waiting around the corner.

Moving to university is an opportunity to learn, to grow and experience new things. And despite starting in a pandemic, I’ve still managed to do that. So I’ll count it as a success.