Hi guys,

University is a hard experience on its own, for most it’s moving away and starting a new life, meeting new people and a lot of self-development. You learn so much about yourself and gain amazing skills, great opportunities and altogether it’s just a great experience for most, when you take advantage of all it has to offer. I as a student can confirm this and say that the past few years of my life have been both shocking but also amazing! I wish everyone the experience I had as a student and to see this as a way to have this final chance of fun with learning.

As I wish for people to have this experience, for the past year most have been unable to do so. When Coronavirus started at the start of 2020, most students were left neglected, ignored and deprived of the experience they want, and also paid for. For most, like me, the university experience has moved on the world of online. Using eBooks, online lessons, pre-recorded lectures and meeting friends via zoom. Today I wanted to give you some of my experiences that I have had as I started my online learning 2 weeks ago, show you what I have picked up and to look at the positives and negatives of it.

Firstly, A not so positive experience, probably not a good one to start off with but as I spoke to my peers, it is not common for most students. I am currently living at home, because Bournemouth is 3 hours away from me and my student aid would not cover my living costs for the year but also I did not see the point of moving away and spending so much money just to sit in front of my computer screen. I am used to the way I study and my parents are used to me not being home while I study so the adjustment has been hard, also not having many people to relate to in this situation has not been the best either, as I found out many of my peers moved to Bournemouth anyway, which to me is pointless but it is their choice, maybe its the idea of trying to stay close to friends and having some of the university experience, I am not sure. Anyway, with all of us in the house it has been hard to adjust, my dad sleeps during the day as he works at night, and I have online lessons where I need to engage and speak, so this is an issue in its self. Also, I work all day, at my desk, and the communication between us is hard, it’s hard for them to understand that I don’t have time to relax with them or do some chores most of the time. But as the weeks go by, it’s getting better, and having them close to me does benefit in some sort of way, I can talk about my stresses and anxieties and maybe get some advice on assignments, there’s always a good side to a not so great situation.

On a more positive note, through online learning, I have gained more confidence to participate in my lessons. While being on campus and in lectures or seminars, I mostly chose to stay quiet and out of the way as I just do not like attention or the stress of getting the question right or making a fool of myself. But with my lessons all online, I feel more excited to engage, maybe because I have a feeling everyone is a bit stressed as this is something new to us so we are all on the same boat or the safety of my computer screen and bed. I also have come to the realisation that I am paying for this and engagement is key, this is my final year and I need to make the best of it and everything it has to offer! I have started relating to my lectures more and gained overall confidence, so although this is not how I have imaged my final year, there are some benefits to it.

A minor stress that I am having and I feel most people will in my situation is trust. Trust towards the teachers and organisers of the whole online learning idea, I feel uneasy about how people might forget things or don’t show up to lessons simply because its all virtual, or people won’t know how to work certain things and chasing up people for content will be harder than ever. I feel this is something that could happen but is not likely, yet it still sits in the back of my mind. I am also keeping graduation in mind, my boyfriends is in July and mine next November and I just don’t want it to be online too, I want this final gratifying goodbye to education, to celebrate with my friends and I don’t think doing it through a screen really shows how hard we all worked to get there.

On a final note, I know this is stressful not just for students but for the lecturers and organisers too, my program and all the teachers that work on my degree are doing the best they can to make sure we are supported and have everything we need, this includes to calling one of them to have a chat to more extensive mental health help. It’s appreciated and does not go unnoticed, and more helpful than ever with local lockdowns and practically doing everything from home now, basically no human contact can drive anyone insane.

I hope you have found this post useful, as a way to relate or to educate yourselves on what students are currently going through, as we are not really being spoke about in the media and in politics in general and kind of left behind. Students are doing ok but we could be better, so if you know a university student or member of staff, check on them as they might really need some positive attention.

Love, Kasia x