A Student’s Perspective on COVID-19
COVID-19 has single-handedly turned my world, and those of my fellow college students, upside down. Never did we think we would be attending our classes virtually and having to limit the number of people we get to see on a daily basis. If you asked me a year ago where I would be now, my answer would have been way off… but is that necessarily a bad thing? Sure, COVID upended my Sophomore year and completely changed my life as a Junior, however, I can also say that it made me a different, and better version of myself.
I think the biggest difference in my life, that many of my classmates would agree on, is having a new perspective. This semester, classes have been significantly different. With last semester being moved online halfway through, it was no surprise to me that my classes would be online again. UConn does offer a small number of classes in person, however, all of mine are online currently.
Classes in this format are definitely harder in some ways, but also have their advantages. I find it easier to manage my time because I can do things at my own pace for some classes, however, the lack of actual class time leads me to need to teach myself more than I have in the past. The transition to completely online classes has been a big adjustment for all parties involved (professors and students) but will nonetheless lead us all to be more successful in the future.
Knowing that all my classes would be online, I went into the semester with a completely different mindset. This semester has also been different socially, for sure. With social distancing, I don’t get to spend much time on campus and have to make a conscious effort to limit the people I spend time with. Although this is unfortunate, it gave me more time to focus on my future and become more involved. This semester I was able to get a job and an internship as well as join two more organizations that I’ve always wanted to be a part of but didn’t have time for before. I always thought that balancing an internship and job at the same time would only be possible for me to do during the summer months, but I have learned that I am fully capable of handling both as well as my school work and extracurriculars. This pandemic has taught me that I sometimes underestimate myself and am capable of more than I think.
Another perspective that this pandemic changed for me was about my role as part of society. When such tragedy hits, every single person plays a part in making a difference for our society as a whole. I learned that my thoughts, words, and actions have a much greater impact than I thought they did. This applies to even more than just COVID-19 and preventing the spread of it. Now, during this election season, I’ve known how my role in society applies in other ways. This was the first time I was old enough to vote in a Presidential election. If I’m being honest, in the past, politics and elections never interested me. I always felt like I didn’t know too much about the beliefs and policies enforced by different candidates. This year, understanding how I could make a difference in society gave me the drive to put in the effort to make a change.
I have also definitely been prioritizing different things since the pandemic hit us, the number one thing being myself. After being forced to spend so much time on my own during quarantine, I learned to enjoy that time. I now have more of a drive to better myself and make time to put my wants and needs first. We all have moments where we tend to put others before ourselves, but having time to think about my purpose and life in general during the past months has led me to do a better job of putting myself first. I realized that when I prioritize myself, I am much happier and better equipped to live my life to its fullest. During quarantine, I took a big step to put myself first by starting something I’ve wanted to do for a while but never thought I could. This was creating my own blog. For the past 3 months, I have been working hard on my blog and loving every second of it. I have really enjoyed having an outlet in my life where I can express myself freely. I’ve never thought I needed some sort of creative outlet, however, I proved myself wrong.
Lastly, one positive thing I believe has resulted from this pandemic is that college-aged students are now more equipped for the real world than ever before. The Class of 2024 has been faced with so much adversity that they have this newly focused drive to succeed and push through with perseverance. In addition, the Class of 2020 was the first to brave entering the workforce during a pandemic. Any person my age could complain endlessly about how this pandemic has affected our lives, but we often forget all of the positive impacts it has had on us.
We are all completely different people than we were back in March when we first left school. So in reality… should we really be complaining that much?
Cassidy Poe is a junior Marketing student at the University of Connecticut, pursuing a focus in Digital Marketing and Analytics as well as a minor in Communication. When she’s not studying or in class, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, going to the beach, drinking coffee, and listening to any type of music.