Most people remember exactly where they were on March 13th, 2020. Two years ago, all schools announced that classes would be going online for a week; then they told us to move out of residences and online learning would remain until the end of the semester. Now, two years later, we’re slowly starting to come back to in-person classes.
I never thought I would be spending a year and a half of my university life halfway across the world in the comfort of my own bedroom. While there are some glaring differences in the way life was from first-year to third-year, there’s also some things that have stayed just how I remembered them to be.
My first-year experience of partying — staying up until five a.m. and struggling to get to class the next morning — has changed drastically. Nowadays, parties are small group hangouts with people that I’ve barely seen in the last two years. Staying up until five a.m. is practically impossible at times, but the struggle to get to class in the morning is still as prevalent as ever.
One thing I’ve noticed is the increase of smiles on campus. Before, people weren’t very open to making friends with those in different years than them; first-years would usually stick with people they met during orientation and third-years would stay with the friends they made in the years prior. Now, coming back, people are more willing to make friends, open up, and share their experiences. Having been locked away, told to stay inside, and keep our distance was great for preventing the spread of COVID-19, but that absence of socialization has allowed people to talk more easily now that we’re out of quarantine. People are more willing to make friends, and at times, some first-years might even be the same age as people in third year.
Though going back home has its perks, like being able to remedy the bonds with my hometown friends, coming back to university has been long-awaited. In online classes, it was more difficult to be in the mood to learn, and the ability to freely experience life was scarce. Now, going to parties isn’t the only way to have fun — going out with friends to play games or even to go for a walk is something that can be fun too. Coming back to Waterloo might not be something people wanted to do, but returning to campus and watching people live their best life is a refreshing aspect.
Clubs and societies were something we paid for with our tuition, and seeing them host events like the recent Pi Day event held by the Math Society gives me hope that life is slowly returning to the way it was before. The scarcity of online events and the increase in excitement and buzz that surrounds the students at school make me feel the same way I felt during orientation.
Though this is just the beginning of our return to normal, it’s given me immense hope for the fall term. Two years on and everything has changed but somehow, everything has also stayed the same. From large gatherings to small groups, maybe it’s the impact of COVID, but maybe it’s also a side effect of getting older.