This past year has been crazy and unexpected. When I decided in March of 2020 to attend UC, I thought I would have a great freshman college experience after having the last bit of my senior year of high school ripped away from me. That did not happen. The COVID19 pandemic affected my first year of college in many ways, some were negative, and others were positive. 

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I started off the fall semester living at home with my family. After a long discussion, my parents and I decided that it would be best for me to live at home for the first semester. There was so much unknown in the world, especially regarding college campuses. There was a crazy refund policy in place, and I knew if we were sent home due to COVID, I would not receive any money back. The first semester was tough. I nannied for a family, but eventually that ended when the kids went back to school. I struggled making friends. Most of my friends from high school were at their colleges making friends and I was stuck in my hometown with a few friends who decided to stay home for the semester. During the semester, I spent time with friends when they came home to visit family. This made me happy, but I also felt like I was missing out on so much. 

I decided to move onto campus for the spring semester. I wanted some sort of normalcy in my life. I met a roommate off a Facebook group, and we lived in an apartment in USquare. This semester was still tough. I could not make friends no matter how hard I tried. Eventually, I made two friends, but unfortunately, they were both living at home in the spring, so I could not hangout with them in person. Most of my weekends were spent at home, visiting my boyfriend, or watching tv alone in my bed. I looked forward to the school week because I would actually have courses to keep me busy.

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I would say that these experiences have greatly impacted my academic goals. After taking a year of online classes, I learned how to adapt to change. I learned that no matter the situation, there is always a way to learn, whether it be watching prerecorded lectures, logging on to Zoom, reading from textbooks, and more. I can use the ability to adapt for my next years in college and even in my career down the line. I can look back to my year that was affected by COVID and pull out lessons I learned. I am excited for my next year at UC because I am hoping it will include the college experience I dreamed of.