Being a College Student During a Pandemic

For those who don't know me, I am a senior at Indiana Univeristy. Going into this school year, I had no idea what to expect with a worldwide pandemic happening. Will I be able to stay at school for the entire year? Can I go out and have a normal college experience? Am I going to be able to see friends that I'm not living with? Basically I was filled with worry, anxiety, and nervousness about coming back to school. After all, my abroad experience got cut short so why would school be any different? Now that I have been back at school for a while, I want to give the inside scoop from a senior's perspective about what college is like during a pandemic.

The first thing thats different this year from expected is that all my classes are online. I have one class that meets every other week in person, but between holidays and quarantines I have only been in person once. Class online is veryyyy different from the in person experience we have all grown used to. Having to sit in your room and pay attention to a lecture for an hour and fifteen minutes on your computer screen can be really challanging. Not only do you need a lot of focus and determination to pay attention and take notes in class, you need to be on top of all assignments because you don't have classmates to remind you of assignments and when they're due. That being said, class online can be fun because there's open note tests and quizzes for most classes, and the teachers sometimes have games and activities to keep us engaged .

Going out is a huge part of the college experience. Doing it during a pandemic is strange but certainly doable. Since I am 21, I'm not sure what the situation is with house parties on campus, but most bars are open. Going to the bars is probably a really different situation now than it was in years past, but this is my first year experiencing it and I still think it is fun. All the bars that are open are pretty much the same in terms of how you can safely have fun. You have to wear a mask until you are seated at your table, tables are 6 feet apart, you order drinks and stay at your table- no walking around. I've been having fun going out with my friends and I feel very safe at the bars. We try to avoid going to the crowded bars on their busy nights or we just go early before it get's packed and its no big deal!

Something else that I was really worried about was seeing friends that I don't live with. Basically when we first got to school, my friends and I who are living together sat down and talked about what we are comfortable with in regards to seeing people outside our immediate bubble. We decided as long as the people are being safe and haven't come into contact with people who are sick, it would be ok. I have seen lots of friends since I have been back at school, after making sure we both tested negative for Covid and that they haven't knowingly been in contact with risky people. Situations will happen and we will unknowingly be with people who have been in contact with someone but we decided to just do our best and have fun while being as safe as we can be.

The last part of being in college during a worldwide pandemic is that we have to get tested a lot. At Indiana, we had to get a Covid test when we got to campus and then we are continually randomly selected to get tested every couple weeks. Obviously with this many people living in one little town it is bound to spread, but knowing that we are all getting tested every few weeks is reassuring. We have to get the saliva test which is gross but very easy and we get the results back within a week. Makes it nice that we don't have to worry about getting tested on our own, and the University is on top of the testing.

Overall, college during a pandemic is weird but not totally different. I spend a lot more time in my house with my friends than we probably would have before, but we get more quality time together. We still go to bars and resturants that are being safe so we still get to have fun, and we can still see friends that are being safe. I am just happy that we got to come back to school at all and having class online where I can sit in my bed if I want to isn't half bad either. Being a college student during a pandemic is something we are all trying to deal with, but I am trying to make the best of the situation and have fun with my friends, enjoy my last year in Bloomington, and wear some cute masks!