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No longer are we in the age of Zoom, an introvert’s paradise. This is the end of times for entirely virtual learning, as classes have returned to in-person education for the majority of those on Grounds. With the fall semester now more than a month in, one may begin to wonder what the hell they are doing with their life. Why are they going to school? Why did they pick the classes they did? Why did they completely drain their flex dollars by going to Starbucks on an almost daily basis? There are lots of questions, and I certainly do not have the answers for them. The reason for that? I am a second-year student. I do not know anything. Seriously.
Assuming I am not alone in respect to these sentiments as a second-year introvert, this post-Zoom semester has posed multiple challenges — most of which I foresaw last year but neglected to do anything to prepare myself for. For instance, the sheer amount of people walking around Grounds throughout the day. I did not realize so many people existed, and I definitely still get shocked each time I see a massive line of people walking down one street. Therefore, instead of actually doing something productive about these struggles, I’m going to articulate my thoughts through the best way I can — mildly sarcastic humor with a touch of self-deprecation.
Quite frankly one of the most terrifying things I have encountered so far is having to learn how to memorize people’s names again. As it turns out, actual human people do not walk around with their names written underneath their face. In smaller classes, one now has to actually speak to other people. The teacher’s and TA’s names can be found online, but there is not a participant list that you can look at anymore in reality. As time ticks on, it gets more and more awkward to ask people their name over and over again. So if you are like me, and have the memory the size of a pebble, you have either forgotten the names of everyone you know or have taken to writing down peoples names with a small description of what they look like with a mask on because we still can not recognize faces.
However, one of the most startling differences between in-person and virtual learning is the act of physically going to class. Yes, I know that is pretty obvious, but forget having free time before classes. If you are not in class, you may most likely either be waiting for the next section to begin or are busy thinking about the work you need to do and not doing it. Depending on where you live, commuting to your classes or the dining halls is either a breeze or the length of watching the Lord of the Rings film trilogy back to back — extended cuts. Whether you take the public bus system, drive, bike, walk or use one of those hoverboards that I saw locked to a bike rack, we all now have to actively find specific classrooms and use our legs once again. Yikes.
And, in regards to classes, it appears that GroupMe chats have slipped solely back into the hands of student organizations and clubs. Do you not remember a detail too small about one of your assignments and don’t want to bother your teacher or TA about it? You might then want to ask the question to one of your peers. Too bad. In order for a class GroupMe to be made, socializing has to occur. And that’s gross. Who is going to go around class and ask everyone for their number? If it is not you, no one else is going to do it. Certainly no one will if it is a lecture section. I have over four hundred people in my intro college chemistry lecture classroom. I don’t know a single person's name there, and I probably never will. So your best chance is to talk to whoever is sitting next to you. Then again, that person may not be the chatty type, and you might not be either. But at least we are all in this together!
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