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  2020-08-23

  The new social distancing norm as a college freshman

  At the beginning of my senior year in high school all I could think about was what college, at Suffolk University, was going to be like. I was excited to see a new part of the world, and to get the chance to meet new people. However the covid-19 pandemic changed every thing, and the image of the perfect college experience in my head was met with a stark reality that includes getting regularly tested for a deadly virus, avoiding physical contact with other people, online classes, and signing up on schedules for every day activities such as doing laundry, going to the cafeteria, going to the library, getting the mail, etc. While I am great full that Suffolk has taken the time to put in place all the necessary precautions needed to stop the spread of covid-19, I can’t help but to feel that myself and many others are going to face many challenges that did not exist before the covid-19 pandemic, and miss out on many experiences that we are no longer able to have because of the ongoing pandemic. Even though the my first full semester of college has yet to start, I have already gained some experience in attending class in a virtual setting, through an online summer course. At first I thought taking this course online would be difficult and that I would struggle to learn since I was not it a learning environment and was surrounded by many distractions. While I did sometimes find my environment to be distracting, I did find that over all it was not to difficult to focus in class. What I actually found to be most difficult about the online courses was coordinating group projects with other students. Although group project partners did a great job doing their share of the work, it was still difficult coordinate our projects since we all lived in different states, and were unable to meet in person. Other than this I found my online class to be just as engaging as class I have taken in the past. Though the struggles of online class is not my only concern for this fall semester, instead I’m more concerned that this new social distancing environment will make it more difficult to meet new people and to make connections. Suffolk has gone to great lengths to provide not only safe learning spaces, but also safe public spaces and single room boarding for its students although theses new policy make living in a new place feel even more lonely. To combat this new social divide Suffolk has been creating virtual and in person social distancing events that have allowed students and staff to get to know each other. These events have done a great job at making me feel more apart of the Suffolk community, and have lessened my fears about this upcoming semester. While the covid-19 pandemic continues to bring many struggles and create new challenges for people all over the world, I still believe that I will be able to thrive in college, and that the new challenges brought on by covid-19 pandemic will be met by creative solutions. I plan to continue to strive as a student and as a member of the Suffolk community, and to embrace the new social distancing norm.