Opinion

Embrace pandemic college experience

by Sierra Stallworth

CONTRIBUTOR

Going back to school brings out a lot of emotions.

For incoming freshmen, worries about being on your own for the first time and making new friends emerges. For sophomores, who faced their first year of college online, are also stepping onto a campus they’ve probably never visited before — embarking on their first in-person college experience.

While we all know both freshmen and sophomores will be going through a “real” freshman experience for the first time, so many upperclassmen will also be having a similar feeling of being a freshman again.

In March 2020, I and many of my peers quickly evacuated campus with the threat of COVID-19 on our minds. We packed our bags and went home with no idea of when we could return. Despite the few who were able to return in the fall of 2020, most of us left campus as underclassmen and will return as upperclassmen.

When most people think of freshman year, freshlyturned 18-year-olds who are embarking on a new path come to mind. Freshmen are learning how to live on their own, how to take classes as college students and how to find their calling in life. It’s the ideal time to make mistakes because no one expects 18-year-olds to get it right on the first try.

Freshman year is a

Students prepare to return to new normal after COVID-19.

Photo by Aaliyah Alexander

transitional period for our youth and a pivotal experience in their life but due to the pandemic, the freshman experience was abruptly halted for the class of 2023. They went from “newbies” who were just starting to find their own way and get accustomed to campus to juniors who are supposed to have it all together.

Dorm life quickly changed to adulthood for many upperclassmen as they began living on their own in apartments off campus. No one expects them to be excited by the events on campus or by the first football game because they were supposed to have already experienced all of their “firsts,” but unfortunately, that’s not the case.

Many students never got to experience what it felt like to finish a full year of classes in person. We never got to feel the fresh air and the warm sand of springy San Diego or to feel how it is to say goodbye to campus in May with the promise of returning in the fall.

Although the university tried to keep us on track with online instruction, we have bypassed many once-in-a-lifetime college experiences and missed key learning benchmarks.

Online classes are tough and many students have suffered trying to stay on top of their work. While some have taken advantage of online instruction, others have been negatively affected. The skill level and success that is associated with upperclassmen might not be up to par with what our professors want from us.

COVID-19 has brought immense changes to the lives of students but with in-person classes beginning in the fall, many students are making an effort to get the college experience COVID-19 took away.

An “after-pandemic” college experience might not be the dream many students dreamt of but it is a chance to return to a somewhat normal college environment.

Although upperclassmen have to start all over again, I believe this “freshman feeling” will help us never take school for granted again, prompting us to go to those sporting events even if the teams have bad track records or to that club meeting we’re not sure we would like. Embrace doing things for the first time even if we don’t have the title of “freshman.”

We are all embarking on a new adventure that can be scary and sometimes troublesome, but instead of straying away from these fears, embrace them and dive into growth for the new semester.

Sierra Stallworth is a junior studying journalism.

Ways to overcome homesickness easily

by aaliyah alexander

OPINION EDITOR

“Leaving the nest” is a big deal in our society.

In a way, it’s a rite of passage — a time where parents or guardians get to see the little child they cared for spread their wings and venture into the unknown.

Not only is leaving home for the first time difficult for our loved ones, it can take a toll on us because many of us have never been away from home for more than two weeks.

As someone who left her hometown in Mississippi at the ripe age of 18 and moved to California to attend college, I know how it feels to be away from the only sense of security you’ve had growing up.

I don’t have the luxury of going home on the weekends to a home-cooked meal or seeing buddies from high school in my college classes for a sense of familiarity. Instead, I had to start from scratch and create a new home while growing into my independence.

After two years away from home, I can safely say I’ve learned a lot about overcoming the urge to catch a flight back home at the first sign of trouble.

If you’re anything like me, change is your best ally, so if you’re having a difficult time with overcoming homesickness, try implementing these few things:

Surround yourself with pictures.

Pictures of loved ones to hang around your dorm room is a great way to be reminded of them while you’re away at college.

Take the time to develop some photos to frame or order a polaroid printer to make a polaroid wall.

Whatever you do, don’t hold back because I promise the more the merrier.

Cry (no, seriously. Let it all out).

In an interview, ConsciousLiving influencer Radhi Devlukia Shetty shared her experience with leaving her family in England after marrying former monk, author and speaker Jay Shetty.

One thing she said helped get her through the transition of moving to New York City was crying.

“I miss my mom… let me just cry about it… I don’t want to wallow in it, but I definitely think releasing emotion in whatever your body needs to…is so healthy,” Shetty said. “And when you cry, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re really sad, it just means you have an emotion you want to release out of your body.”

How many times have you felt great after a good cry? If you’re feeling the need to let it out, then by all means let it out!

Spend time with your new college buddies.

Doing something fun with new acquaintances you’ve made helps take your mind off home.

Especially if you’re an outof-state student, exploring your new home gives you the opportunity to find spots to make your own — slowly creating your new reality and that “home-away-from-home” feeling.

FaceTime your family.

We live in a wonderful time where seeing family is just a click away.

Just a few years ago, students had to go to college without the luxury of a smartphone capable of reaching loved ones, so take advantage of this amazing tool and FaceTime your family.

Create a routine.

Since classes are in session, this step is easier — classes, work and other activities will inevitably take up most of your day.

When you have places to be and people to see, the thought of missing home rarely comes up because you’re too busy living your life.

Going off to college and having our coming-of-age “main character” moment is something many of us have been dreaming of since we can remember, so don’t let homesickness take up too much of your mental space.

Welcome all the feelings that come with leaving home, keeping in mind that it’ll soon pass.

Author John Green said it best in his book “Paper Towns,” “It is so hard to leave — until you leave. And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world.”

Aaliyah Alexander is a junior studying journalism and media studies. Follow her on Twitter @ aaliyahdanyell.

EDITOR IN CHIEF Catlan Nguyen

MANAGING EDITOR Trinity Bland

NEWS EDITOR Katelynn Robinson

OPINION EDITOR Aaliyah Alexander

MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Noé Sandoval

ASST. MUNDO AZTECA EDITOR Karina Bazarte

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Ryan Hardison

SPORTS EDITOR Jason Freund

ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Andrew Finley

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Amanda Orozco

PHOTO EDITOR Noelani Sapla

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Mackenzie Stafford

ASST. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jayne Yutig

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Hemen Hesfin

STAFF WRITERS

SENIOR STAFF WRITERS Juan Daniel Avilla Jessican Octavio

CONTRIBUTORS George Liao Adam Correa Madison Miles Marian Cuevas Sierra Stallworth Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo

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GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALIST Luis Valenzuela

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