December 15, 2020, by Agnes

Missing out on the Uni experience

This year has been extremely difficult for everyone, so it feels selfish to mourn my disrupted plans when others are mourning loved ones. However, I know that there are other students around the country, around the world, who feel the same. 

My birthday Ocean

My friends and I decided that we’ll celebrate my 20th birthday, my first birthday at university, at my favourite place in Notts – Ocean. We booked the tickets months in advance and were so excited for my “birthday Ocean”, which unfortunately fell at the beginning of April, about two weeks after we all went home due to the first lockdown. My actual birthday, stuck at home with my family, wasn’t nearly as exciting. There’s always my next birthday!

Concert

One of my favourite artists, Jessie Reyez, finally announced a UK tour. I bought tickets for her show in Birmingham and arranged a place to stay for the night. I was so excited for the gig I listened to her new album on repeat as soon as it came out. Unfortunately, the concert was scheduled for May, then postponed as soon as Corona hit, and finally cancelled. I can only hope that she’ll plan another tour in the future.

Summer pub days

Picture this… you’re sitting in a beer garden surrounded by all your friends, the sun is kissing your face, you’re tipsy and laughing loudly over a few beers. For me, it would have been the end of first year, zero worries about exam results, not a care in the world… There’s always next year! 

Welcome Fair

Let’s be honest… it just wasn’t the same this year. It was one of my favourite parts of welcome week last year, so I was excited to go check out what was on offer this September. Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver. By no fault of the SU, of course! There was no way to make it just as good, and keep it safe. Again… there’s always next year.

Regular student life

   Lectures

I never thought I’d say this, but I miss getting up early to attend my 9 am lectures. I miss rushing across campus to my next lecture. I miss walking into a lecture hall and scanning the room for a friendly face to sit next to. I miss catching up with classmates or complaining about the workload while waiting for the lecturer to arrive.

   Library dates

I’ll admit, I do enjoy entering the library knowing I have a designated space to work at. Pre-pandemic it was a gamble of whether you can find a free seat. Despite that, not being able to sit with a friend and complain about the work while sharing snacks… it’s just not the same.

   Society events

This year I managed to get myself a Social Secretary role in the Vegetarian and Vegan Society – you can imagine how that’s going. So far, we’ve only been able to plan virtual events, some of which did well and some of which flopped. Either way, sitting in your room and attending through Teams doesn’t compare to getting lost in the Trent building or the LASS building looking for the right room.

Halloween parties

Self-explanatory… The only thing to add is that dressing up (and going out) is one of my favourite things 🙁

Friend Christmas

As I explained in a previous post, I moved in with my partner at the beginning of second year. This means that we’ve spent both lockdowns together since we also live near each other out of term time. This means that I haven’t had the chance to hang out with my friends often – since they weren’t in my “bubble”. So I missed out on friend Christmas this year, as well as other friend celebrations – birthdays, for instance.

So, though I acknowledge that others have had it worse, I hope reading this makes you feel a bit better, maybe a little less alone. All of us have lost memories we didn’t get a chance to create. All we can do is stay hopeful – there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

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