The Perks of Online College
I started dreaming about college when I was nine years old-- when my oldest brother started his first semester of college. While my dreams changed over the years, I never really stopped thinking about and anticipating the experience. As I prepared to start school this fall, I was so excited to move into my dorm, study outside in the California sunshine, meet new people, explore new places, go to classes with awesome professors, worship with my fellow students in the chapel, and walk around the beautiful campus every day.
When I found out that my classes would be all-online this semester, I went through a grieving process. It was the death of a dream. I'm never going to have the first semester I'd been looking forward to for so long. When I first heard the news, I was in denial... I essentially felt nothing and said it was fine. After all, it would have been hard not to see it coming. I've dealt with deep anger because it seems so unfair for this to happen. And I went through a period of depression, mourning what I've lost.
Now that my classes have actually started, though, I'm coming around, accepting the situation, and trying to find the silver linings. And it turns out, there are actually quite a few!
1. I don't have a roommate.
Don't take this the wrong way. I've gotten to talk to the roommate I was assigned this semester, and she's a lovely person. I'm looking forward to living with her.
At the same time, there are definite perks to having my room to myself. I'm an introvert, and finding alone space on a college campus is nearly impossible (as I noted in one of my poems in The Sense of Non-cents.) It's nice to have my bedroom as a personal retreat. In addition, I am incapable of keeping a regular schedule, so I'm thankful that I can go to bed very late, wake up very early, and play music at all hours without the constant fear of disturbing a sleeping roommate.
2. I have my own bathroom.
This is similar to number one. I don't think I really need to elaborate it. The community restrooms in college dorms are the WORST.
3. Food is great and super convenient.
My mom is an amazing cook. The best college cafeteria in the country would pale in comparison to what she makes. Plus, I often have only ten minutes between classes in which to grab lunch, and walking downstairs to the kitchen is so much quicker and less stressful than trying to sprint to the cafeteria during that time.
4. There's less stress about your appearance.
All my classmates and professors are seeing of me is a low-definition image from the shoulders up. I'm not the type to wear pajamas to class, but it is a major stress relief to not feel the need to look perfect all the time, every day. Of course, I want to get rid of that feeling of obligation anyway, but until I get to that point, I appreciate having no reason to feel it.
5. You can get away with more during class.
The "mute" function on Zoom can be wonderful and save you from a lot of embarrassed. I have sneezed violently during class, and laughed 'til I cried about something that wasn't terribly funny, but because I was muted and my picture's tiny, I don't think anyone noticed.
6. Not walking to class saves time.
Similar to having my "cafeteria" right downstairs, I'm grateful that all I have to do to get to class is sit down at my laptop. Less time walking means more time for studying! Of course, this does mean I have to be very intentional about exercising since I'm spending pretty much all of my time sitting in front of a computer. But it does have its advantages-- again, like being able to eat lunch in the ten minutes between two classes.
There are a lot of inconvenient and frustrating aspects of doing college online, but I'm grateful for every one of the blessings it brings, and I'm trying to focus on them as much as I can.
