A freshman experience during COVID

By Connor Stevens

Photo courtesy of Katie Snyder

College is a time for young adults to branch out and begin to develop their futures. A time to develop skills, form new friendships and find their calling. The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in those plans for many freshmen, including Katie Snyder, an interior design major here at Georgia Southern University.

“I honestly feel like the freshmen got the short end of the stick this year,” said Snyder. “We aren’t getting the same experiences other classes got to have.”

An average freshman year is where you meet new friends and create memories that last a lifetime, but Snyder explained this wasn’t the case this year. Social distancing restrictions prevented students from entering other dorms or having guests, ruining the possibility of those moments.

Those restrictions led to tough decisions for Snyder and other students to make. Follow COVID guidelines and lose out on friends, or bend the rules a little bit.

“Had I 100% abided by all of the COVID precautions I most likely would lack the friend group I currently have and would have been depressed,” Snyder said.

Snyder said she did follow COVID guidelines all year, but felt it was necessary to still enjoy her time in college while being socially distant.

The other experience that stuck out to Snyder as being lackluster was game day for football. There were very few tailgates compared to a normal year, a lack of fans in the crowd, and just a different feel than the traditional college game day experience.

“I’m looking forward to next year being able to get that game day feeling; that’s what I always pictured college as,” said Snyder.

After a year full of stress and social distancing guidelines, Snyder along with the entire student population, is looking forward to getting back to the real college experience.