Amrit Virdi
Life under lockdown became the norm for nearly half a year. This means that the sudden change to fast-paced university living can seem daunting and off-putting. These natural anxieties are a completely normal feeling and adjusting back to student life need not be a struggle.
Post-lockdown living once seemed like a very distant, idealised and sought-after future. But with term starting imminently after an unprecedented six-month break, this sudden lifestyle change is bound to be a shock.
It’s no secret that solitary and independent living with limited social interaction has been a part of our daily lockdown routines. Having unlimited free time to spend on TikTok, Netflix and Disney+ has been, if I do say so myself, very much enjoyable, especially for my introverted self.
Having said this, one daunting aspect about the return to University life may be how to cope around so many people after spending so much time alone. Yet whilst this may be unnerving, it must be noted that everyone is in the same boat.
University life will not be what it once was; online lectures and seminars mean lecture theatres filled with hundreds of people are a thing of the past, but everyone will be adapting at the same pace.
For those of you returning to University after first year, you will (hopefully) be living in a house of your closest friends who most likely have the exact same worries as you, meaning that the lifestyle change will not be as scary as it seems.
After finally adjusting to life in halls away from my family, having to suddenly up and move back home was a shock
For most of us though, we adjusted to spending day in and day out with our family for six months. Personally, this was the biggest struggle for me; after finally adjusting to life in halls away from my family, having to suddenly up and move back home was a shock. Yet adjusting back to University life need not be a struggle.
If you have overcome the biggest hurdle of moving away at the start of first year without knowing anyone, moving back to University with an established group of friends will be miles easier. And after we have all had months to become Zoom experts, keeping in touch with family and friends back home should be a walk in the park.
Now onto the biggest struggle of all – productivity. Even with online learning, let’s face it – our brains haven’t been in work mode in quite some time.
With many of us missing the summer exam period and the need for late night revision sessions, anxiety around adjusting back to having a heavy workload is completely natural for COVID-era students.
After a stint of online learning and a socially distanced summer, no one really knows what to expect when we are back on campus
Additionally, academic life will not be as we once knew it. After a stint of online learning and a socially distanced summer, no one really knows what to expect when we are back on campus.
This is bound to cause anxiety to most, if not all, of us, as we lack the community surrounding the in-person aspects of campus life. After all, working from home is not for everybody and is a completely new experience for students.
So whilst these natural anxieties may be at the forefront of your mind, remember that we are all in the same boat. With a sense of community along with patience and optimism, we’ll be adjusted to post-lockdown University life in no time.
Amrit Virdi
Featured image courtesy of Tim Guow via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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