The 2020-2021 school year was confusing, frustrating, and draining. Our college education was moving forward, or just beginning for some, in the midst of a pandemic. The ever-changing COVID-19 protocols and uncertainty of our future made it impossible to find a routine with school, sports, and extracurriculars. Students on and off campus struggled to find normalcy in their college education, and for many freshmen, their experience was cut short.
When I came to Pacific as a freshman last year, I didn’t know what to expect. The steps for registering online for orientation events were intimidating and confusing, and the hassle of trying to make friends while maintaining COVID protocols was exhausting.
While trying to find our place on campus, we also had no preparation for how college classes were supposed to go. The horrendous study habits that I developed in my senior year of high school only continued to plummet as the structure of my college classes changed daily. My procrastination habits worsened with soft due dates, and my lack of motivation to show up or log on as a black screen on Zoom grew stronger.
Now, as I’m entering my second year, I feel just as lost as when I stepped onto campus last year. Sure, I know where the important buildings are and how to get the basic necessities, like food and water, but I can’t help but feel like I’m a freshman again this year. I’m just as nervous for in-person classes because I don’t know how to take a test on paper anymore, and everything is so different compared to last year that I find myself asking the upperclassmen for advice on how to survive my “first year.”
Even with the help of mentors on campus, I’m caught between wanting to be an independent “sophomore” and trying to learn more about how the campus normally works. Instead of being excited to have another orientation, I’m frustrated that I don’t know what I am supposed to do as a second-year student, who continues to feel the anxiety and pressure of being a freshman all over again.
Because these frustrations are shared by other second-year students, we at least have the ability to grow closer and create deeper bonds with those we have met. Moving forward, we can only continue to be adaptable to any curveball thrown at us, and hopefully, it won’t be any worse than last year. — Chandler Fleming
Major: Multimedia
Hometown: Parker, Colorado
Hobbies: Lacrosse, volleyball, cleaning, organizing, working for Dutch Bros
Leave a Reply