With finals steadily approaching and the end of the semester near, students are looking back on this unprecedented fall semester.
Though this semester was different because of COVID-19 and the accompanying campus regulations, Aggies persevered by continuing to learn and make memories
When considering her overall semester, international studies and Spanish senior Madeleine Songy said the fast-paced classes made her education feel rushed.
“I never felt like I had enough time to get everything done,” Songy said. “The shortened semester I think added pressure on professors to try and cram more material into a shorter period of time.”
Anthropology junior Sean Gunn said the semester was not the best because it was difficult mental health-wise.
”With the pandemic and having a lot of normal things I’m used to change in ways that tax my mental health more, it’s made even simple things more difficult,” Gunn said.
Communication junior Kalindi Desai said she feels her work ethic shifted due to the changes brought by COVID-19, and she lost her drive to learn things.
“To be completely transparent, I have skimmed by this semester and have become very unmotivated to do schoolwork, so I wish I still had the same excitement and urge to learn like I used to when classes and college life were normal,” Desai said.
In order to boost her class performance, Songy said she will make an effort to study more on campus instead of at home.
“It’s definitely an issue to have your home be both a place of relaxation and study stress,” Songy said. “I want to try and separate school from my house a little bit more so I can actually decompress there.”
Though the semester was difficult, it still had its highlights and happy moments. Gunn said his most memorable experience was putting out new merch for the Department of Anthropology for the first time in five years.
“I’m the social chair for the Anthropological Society here at A&M, and this semester my pet project was to make new merch that our department can have,” Gunn said. “We’re a small but mighty major and I feel like we should be represented more, and as soon as I announced there was merch coming the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.”
For Desai, some of her most memorable moments from this semester were when she found herself gathered with her roommates and friends on their couch watching movies, playing games and spending quality time together.
“The simplicity of this semester is something I learned to cherish a lot, and I’m really thankful for the easy, mundane times I was able to have with my friends, which is something I don’t think I would have had as much of if I was always on the go like normal,” Desai said.
With plans staying fluid to accomodate for more potential COVID-19 spikes, A&M’s spring semester remains uncertain, but Desai said she hopes COVID-19 cases decline and students can attain some sense of normalcy and excitement for the spring semester.
“I am also hoping that I feel more excited to do school and that my classes will give me a greater sense of fulfillment,” Desai said.