OPINION: Covid-19 and strikes have done nothing but disrupt my university experience

Good old first year – a time of transition indeed. A time where students leave the comfort of their home lives and embark on a journey of self discovery. The frenzy of fresher’s week gradually vanishes, revealing the huge challenges of student life – making new friends, navigating a new way of life and education, and living alone for the first time.

First year is difficult enough as it is – there’s no denying that – so throwing a pandemic into the mix was quite the experience. Covid has tarnished my university experience, especially my first year, which would usually be a time of experimentation and discovery. It was important to make the most of it because of the more demanding workloads and responsibilities as you progress through the years, but this just wasn’t possible.

The most difficult aspect of university life during the pandemic were online classes. Not only were connection issues a struggle, but I found them isolating. I couldn’t wait to be able to crack jokes in classes again and invite my coursemates for a coffee after a seminar. Online classes created this illusion that interactions ended as the lesson did.

Despite the tough times during my first university year, I am proud of how I managed to survive its demands. I still pushed myself out of my comfort zone and created meaningful conversations and memories with those around me. For me, organising an international reading event with the university’s poetry society was a highlight and introduced me to so many wonderful people.

And like the pandemic wasn’t enough, we’ve also had to deal with strikes. They may not have posed as much disruption to my experience than others, their uncertainty and the opportunity to interact with coursemates being taken away is frustrating.

My time at university has been interesting to say the least – but there’s always hope for third year, right?

Edited by Katie Wheatley