Viki
This year took away so much from me.
Connections. I feel like I did not make as many friends as I thought I would have. I thought that living in the same building would do that but I think that I’ve actually created more conflict.
Freedom as well. This could’ve been such a cool social place if the basement was open. We don’t have those to meet new people so you actually have to go to people’s rooms to hang out with them.
It just doesn't feel natural.
Both of us, we had a lot more friends in high school and so you start wondering “well shouldn’t this be better, shouldn’t I be taking steps forward rather than backwards?”.
Especially when the idea of university is so romanticized into this image of how you should socialize and be partying every weekend and really enjoy it.
Whereas when I would go out, it would be for 20 minutes and I would realize I was the only sober person among a sea of tipsy and drunk people and it was just not fun.
Niels
College was just so different than what my parents had told me it would be. They really liked their time in high school and kind of created this ideal image of it. I mean they’ve been hyping up university for me for years.
What I did learn from this year though is that I can go pretty long in isolation!
In that sense, I was lucky because I was one of those people who didn’t feel too caged in. Then the restrictions got worse in March and that's when it hit me the most.
Before that point I still had classes in person and was so excited to see people, I would hurry to class.
That really put things into perspective.
I thought I didn’t need as much social contact in my life but the pandemic made me realize that that’s not true.
I do really need it but maybe not to the extent of some party animals!
I got into journaling and that’s kind of nice.
Though it feels like every day just melts into
another so it’s mostly mundane things in there.
But I still do it.
The hardest moment was when a lot of times I felt like such a failure for not being able to connect more with people.
I don’t think it was one specific moment but a lot of incidents where I felt this pressure of “I should go out” or “I should form bonds with others” and it didn’t happen.