Coping With the Campus Blues

By Mehvish Patel on August 17, 2020

Honest question? Who looks forward to going back to campus at the end of summer? When August rolls around, everyone’s more busy trying to fit in last-minute vacations and a bit of freedom before it’s time to head back to reality, also known as college. However, this summer, or should I say this whole year has been a little more than different, and the perception of returning to school has changed vastly.

COVID-19 swept across the States in March and closed college campuses and everything else with it. The world threw us a curve, but universities worked as hard as possible as students transitioned into virtual learning. It’s safe to say it worked for some and not so much for others, but the newly implemented “pass/fail” system was definitely a huge help. As summer rolled around, students eagerly awaited their university’s decision on the upcoming semester. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to return to campus, and life would be back to normal, but COVID has proved we live in anything but a perfect world.

Photo credit to photographer Stanley Morales / Pexels.com

Most universities have decided to do a combination of in-person and online classes, also known as hybrid learning. Students even have the choice of whether they would like to attend those in-person classes or be 100% online. It’s important to point out, whatever choice you make solely depends on your health and how comfortable you are returning to campus. Despite this, I think we can all agree that however much we’ll complain about school once it’s back to normal, we wish we could go back. Everywhere I turn, one thing’s for sure, the campus blues have plagued the nation.

For many, a college campus is like an escape. It’s a little town where you spend all your time interacting with people from all walks of life. Knowledge seeps from the foundation it’s built upon. It’s impossible not to enjoy it just a little so. If you’re like me and dealing with the campus blues, here are some aspects of universities going online that can benefit you.

Getting a Better Job/ Internship

One of the toughest things college students face is finding a job or internship that can work around their schedule and then not being able to accomplish that job full-time. With universities now going remote and having the option of whether you’d like to stay home or not, it opens up a ton of opportunities and job prospects. Better yet, many internships, if not all, are going remote, so if you’ve had your eye on a possible role that is perhaps out of state or even the country, now is the perfect time to apply. Internships and companies worldwide are opening up their offices to people from all walks of life, giving students a better chance of gaining the experience they need after graduation.

Pursuing Creative Endeavors

It seems like the number one thing to do during quarantine has been doing that one task you’ve been avoiding forever. With classes now being entirely online and not having the struggle of commuting to campus, you might find yourself with a lot more free time. Use this time to pursue any creative endeavors you have been holding off. Been thinking about starting a blog? This is the best time to do it. With people more inclined to receive their news and other forms of entertainment online, you have a better chance of getting noticed. Don’t let this get to your head, though, because we are still in the middle of a pandemic, and in no way does that mean you must do something with this time. Take it at your own pace and see how it goes.

Putting All Your Focus Into School

This might seem like a confusing one, and something you think you already do, but there is more to it. A lot of the time, students are wrapped up in so many things during the school year, like internships, extracurricular activities, and clubs, all while juggling 4 to 6 classes a semester. If you’re a student, you know how hectic it is to create time for everything you have to do. With school going remote and jobs and internships, there are many leeways when it comes to classes. Not only are professors more empathetic on the workload, but working with students during this challenging transition. If COVID has canceled all your other activities and plans for the semester, this is the perfect time to put your all into school. You can raise your GPA and think of post-graduate plans ahead of time.

Whatever it might be, don’t let the campus blues get you down this semester. The list of things you can do goes far beyond this; it’s just a matter of finding what works best for you. Coming Spring, universities might open back up, and we’ll have our campuses again, but in the meantime, use this time to create better opportunities for yourself.

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