This semester has changed drastically and been completely different from my first semester at the University of Maryland. The COVID-19 pandemic has definitely been something that got in the way of ending my first year and has changed up things just as I was adjusting to life on campus.
I have had a lot of difficulties in adjusting to life back home. For one, I felt like I was more able to roam around and not worry about my work on campus. I felt like I had a lot of options in terms of outside distractions on campus such as going to the gym, going out to eat with friends, or just hanging out in my dorm. Now, I am stuck in my room most of the day and am more inclined to play on my Xbox or be on my phone rather than do work, in an attempt to distract myself and procrastinate. This pandemic has also changed my living habits. I was used to having a set schedule every day at school from waking up, going to eat, going to class, etc. Now, I feel that I have more free time and my days are not planned out as thoroughly which had thrown me off balance.
This coronavirus pandemic has also been a big boost in self-growth as well. I feel like I have learned a lot more about myself and how I feel as well as who I want to be as I dive deeper into college. For one, It has shown me that I have to stay organized and well prepared if I am to continue to do well in my studies. It has also shown me that I have to teach myself to study in a more efficient way. I have done well during my first year at UMD, but I now see that I have a lackluster in studying and it is one of my weaknesses when it comes to school. I personally feel that I have grown more as a person as well as a student, although adapting to rapid change is not one of my strong suits.
There has been a lot of talk about next semester being online or partially online, with learning continuing from home. If this were to happen, I would definitely want classes to be better prepared for online learning. I felt that a lot of classes wanted to continue learning online as if it were in person, which included a lot of extra assignments to catch up. This felt like an immense weight on an already loaded schedule and meant many of us had to catch up. I would also like to see a better dynamic when it comes to student group projects. I felt like professors tried to make group projects work, but it was definitely more difficult to do when the class time was dedicated to class lectures and we didn’t have the ability be in groups. Personally, I think I definitely need to find a place to be able to do my work without distractions. Being in my room all day has been unhealthy and messed up my eating and sleeping habits. Lastly, I think that I would also need to find a new way to stay more organized with my school work, for example, I think I definitely would need to act as if I was on campus and do work for one class during that scheduled class time.