First year vs second year: experiencing lockdown as a fresher

I started university in 2020, so COVID was the number one thing on everyone’s mind. While it certainly still has an impact on our lives, we’ve been able to return to at least some semblance of normality. In this blog post, I’ll be comparing the experiences I had in first year with those of second year.

1. Accommodation 

In first year, I was living in Westwood accommodation (yes, people who stayed in Westwood do exist!). When we arrived, we quickly found out that we were only allowed to socialise with people in the same kitchen. This made it hard to get out there and make friends. While I was fine with my room (and sharing bathrooms was nowhere near as bad as I expected), I definitely felt cooped up, and I took a lot of walks around campus just so I could get a change of scenery.

In second year, I’m living at home. I’m helping my grandma to adjust to life on her own without my grandad, but there are also huge benefits for me, particularly in terms of rent and how close her house is to the university. Moving off campus doesn’t mean I’m always at home, though – I spend more time on campus now than ever, especially now classes are in person.

2. Social Life 

As I mentioned before, first year meant I was hanging around with my flatmates for the most part. We happened to get on, but I know of many people who had disagreements with or weren’t the biggest fans of their flatmates. During a regular university year, this doesn’t really matter, because you can always find friends elsewhere. But because we were generally confined to our accommodation, there weren’t many opportunities to meet new people. Societies weren’t really running any events, and certainly not in person. I didn’t get to try a lot of the things I wanted to, so I felt very lonely and bored at times. The saving grace of last year was when I met my wonderful girlfriend during the Christmas break. I know not everyone was so lucky!

Second year has been astronomically better than last year in terms of social life. I’ve been able to meet all the people on my course who were previously just tiny squares on Microsoft Teams. I joined more societies now that events are actually running again. I’ve been able to go to more socials, attend and perform in gigs, and go out with friends. 

3. Lectures and Seminars 

I am a Modern Languages student (Hispanic Studies with Italian). For me, the most significant change has been my classes. In first year, everything was online. I struggled to pay attention to seminars on Teams, and found it very understimulating to be studying from my room. I didn’t feel able to chat to other students or even ask questions during class, because it meant unmuting my microphone and making a whole song and dance of it.

This year, all my seminars are in person. Lectures are still online, but this actually suits me quite well, because I can choose to watch the lecture at a time most convenient for me (often that time is 3am armed with a Pot Noodle). Physically going to seminars gives me more motivation, and a change of environment makes it easier for me to concentrate. 

4. Exams 

Not every department or course is the same, but all of my exams are online this year. This was exactly the same as last year, and while that brings its logistical challenges, it feels a little less intense from my perspective, although I do think having oral exams in person might help me to feel less nervous. 

I feel like last year wasn’t an accurate reflection of what university is really like. Second year has brought me a lot more enjoyment and a sense of belonging at Warwick. It’s easy to feel disconnected from the university community when everything is online and you’re confined to your room, but now we can interact in person again, I’m having a much more positive experience. I think a lot of other students feel the same and we can only keep our fingers crossed that things continue to improve in terms of the pandemic. 

Challenge: How has your life changed this year compared to last year?