Are College Students Ready to Return to Normal?
What students are dreading, what they’re looking forward to, and what they’ve learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the return to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic nears, there are mixed feelings of anxiety and excitement amongst college students. Illustration by Julia Feigus '21
When Marist College freshman Paige Graff ‘24 attended her high school graduation in the spring of 2020, it was only a few months into the pandemic. From sports practices to in-person classes, everything had been shut down at rapid speed. Human interaction was few and far between.
“When I saw people for the first time in a large group at my graduation, I was overwhelmed because I felt so many different emotions,” Graff said. “I was afraid of possibly getting COVID, I was happy to see all my friends again after more than three months of not seeing them — and so much more that I can’t even put into words.”
Three months into widespread lockdowns and social isolation, Graff was anxious about what being around people would be like. Now, more than a year after the pandemic’s start, she still feels unprepared to handle socialization. “I feel like now that we’ve had so much time away from others, human interaction might be something completely different. I think, for me, I’m worried I won’t be able to control my emotions when everything does open up.
Recent stories published by the New York Times, New York Magazine, CNN, and more have expressed widespread anxiety about life returning to “normal.” Some people are concerned about socialization—whether it will be strange, or if they’ll even remember how to interact at all. Others aren’t prepared to leave behind the lessons that the pandemic has taught them.
Although college students as a whole seem to be overwhelmingly prepared to socialize again — with many still flocking to Florida for spring break and parties popping up all over college campuses — not all are prepared for what a return to normal life will bring.
Olivia Mistretta ‘24, a freshman at Marist, remembers the first time she saw friends after the pandemic started. They went on a socially distant and masked walk around her hometown. “I couldn’t stop talking,” she said. “It was like I had been saving up all the words I hadn't been speaking aloud in months.” Although she’s ready to have a moral normal college experience — as Zoom classes, a lack of on-campus activities, and lockdown in dorms is not what she had expected — she knows it’s going to be overwhelming at first. “After that walk, I felt so tired. I realized how socialization can really tire you out, especially if you're not used to it anymore,” Mistretta said.
It seems that what college students miss most is the ability to interact freely and face-to-face with their friends. Jana Brzovski ‘21, a senior at Marist, says she is absolutely ready for the world to open back up — if only to allow her the opportunity to be social again. “I didn’t realize how much of a social butterfly I am, and how much I valued and needed human interaction until quarantine,” she said. “As grateful as I am to be living in a time where technology is so advanced and provides means to connect with one another, it’s hard to build a meaningful relationship with someone through a camera.”
Regardless of the stereotypical college student’s desire to return to a life of socialization, whether it’s at bars or house parties, the majority are simply ready for the most fundamental of interactions. Most feel that it’ll be a bit of a relief to finally talk to people, both strangers and friends, in person again.
Steve Palluotto ‘23, a sophomore at Marist, has been taking online courses from home for a little over a year. “I’ve almost forgotten how it feels to have a true college experience,” he said. “My classes and professors have been great, however when you’re not physically there, you get a feeling of isolation.” Paluotto believes it will be a bit of a culture shock when he finally gets to return to the college’s campus.
For students who actually have been on campus during the pandemic, the year has not come without challenges. With colleges canceling breaks to prevent students from traveling and instituting accelerated curriculums to fit into shortened semesters, increased anxiety and stress have caused students’ mental health to suffer.
But some college students found that quarantine and the more isolated, slower-paced lifestyle of the pandemic brought an opportunity to recenter and reevaluate how they had been living.
Jenny Sukonik ‘21, a senior at Marist, believes the pandemic allowed her to be more present in daily life. “I spent a lot of time with my family and it really made me think about what’s truly important. Family is everything to me, and I felt like I wasn’t as appreciative before. Now, I think about how blessed I am,” she said. Where life before COVID-19 was busy and fast-paced, Sukonik has found ways to slow down and entertain herself in healthier ways, like running a few times a week, being outside, and practicing self-care. “It has made me so much happier.”
It seems that there has been a widespread realization regarding what matters most, and many people aren’t ready to lose the sense of community, focus on mental health, and value shift that has come from the global crisis.
“With the pandemic, we were put in a situation where we had to consider what an individual needs to be truly healthy and happy — and that’s something we weren’t really considering before,” Nicole Formisano ‘22, a junior at Marist said. “The fact that my parents didn’t have to spend their entire weeks working, and my sisters and I had a break from the ever-present stress of school, allowed us to actually spend time together without expending so much mental and emotional energy on outside stressors.”
Activism has also increased throughout the course of the pandemic. The Black Lives Matter movement reignited with protests over the death of George Floyd, and political activism was high regarding both President Trump and his COVID-19 response plan and other politicians. “People became invested in politics because everyone was a stakeholder,” Formisano said. “When we saw the death toll rise every day, we all understood that something needed to change, and we needed to advocate for that change.”
As much as she wants the pandemic to be over, Formisano doesn’t necessarily want to return to the same “normal” we were used to. “I still want us to continue considering mental health, holding politicians accountable, to keep home and family at the center of our lives instead of our jobs. These things were good, and I’ll miss them.”
Caitlin Whitting ‘24, a freshman at Marist, is perhaps most grateful that the pandemic-dictated slower pace of life. Her family normally goes on vacation every summer; but this year, they were forced to stay home. Rather than jetting off on a trip, Whitting’s mother went to a doctor’s appointment she would have had to cancel had the pandemic not upended their plans. At that appointment, the doctor caught her mother’s breast cancer in its early stages — early enough that it was still treatable.
“I think people were much more prone to take things for granted, but the pandemic really put life into perspective for us,” Whitting said. “Now we know what really matters to us and we appreciate little things more. “Witnessing the way covid affected my family and so many others made me realize that school and work are insignificant compared to time and connections with family and friends.”
Although college students are ready to go back to a sense of normalcy, the pandemic won’t just disappear. Returning to a more social society is necessary — as human beings, especially young and college-age ones, need human interaction — but most are hoping that the lessons learned and this newfound value shift isn’t completely lost.
“Pre-COVID, I was always caught up in school and work, but the pandemic forced me to step back and reevaluate my life to see what needed to change,” Whitting said. “Since then, school and work are still a priority, but my family will always come first.”