The Dairy of a Zoom University Student,
If you look back at 2020 many of us had a common belief system, “omg I can’t wait until 2021 when covid is gone!” Well, I am currently writing this article outside in front of a coffee shop, wearing a mask, and sitting six feet apart from the people around me. It’s April 2021. The only difference is that many of us have accepted the fact that this year, whether we be a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, we aren’t actually attending the University of California San Diego, but instead we are attending the school with possibly the highest acceptance rate in history… Zoom University.
I’m gonna be honest at this point I don’t know the difference between Instagram reels or TikTok and lectures, they seem to always be happening at the same time. Is my professor saying regrade or renegade? Sometimes I’m not sure. The phone is a real devil when it comes to Zoom University. I also don’t think I’ve looked at my own reflection as much as I do know, sitting in breakout rooms with all the black screens and everyone’s mics turned off.
I’ve always considered myself somewhat of an introvert. Well at least before the pandemic. Now I think everyone has a very wrong definition of that. It’s not that we don’t want to hang out with people it’s that when we do we need to recharge our social batteries from time to time. At the end of the day, everyone needs people. Someone to stress out with for a test, or procrastinate an essay with, or simply look at each other and realize that we have no clue what is going on in class. A lack of all that is never easy for anyone, and especially to those who image college as a cauldron of friends, adventures, and shenanigans.
Today I’m not sure what will make me more productive, making a list of things I need to do in a cute, extremely overpriced planner, a sticky note on my desk, or simply trust my brain to remember everything. No matter what I do I seem to end up in the same spot, “t-minus three hours until the paper is due, its go time.” Procrastination has reached an all-time high. The desire to do much work is almost non-existent, and it seems as though the only thing I am running on is the anxiety of surviving my college classes. Thinking back to high school it’s hard to imagine how I survived all the clubs and sports, and seven classes altogether.
I think my new belief system should simply be “I hope I survive my next zoom lecture.”
Note to the audience: I hope by now you have slowly come to realize that if you also think Zoom University sucks, you’re not alone. It’s hard, long, and sometimes discouraging. But that’s okay. Our entire lives we have been taught to consume information in a very different manner and adapting to something so new and different will come with its bumps and potholes and learning curves. It’s not always gonna be easy but at the end of the day, it is the small wins that matter. Sitting through a lecture without looking at your phone or finishing an assignment with more than 20 minutes to spare. We will at the end of the day all survive and make it to the next year where hopefully we can truly attend the University of California San Diego.