A Freshman’s Experience

By Camryn Eveler
Contributing Writer

I am currently a college freshman. I was finishing my junior year of high school when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Since March 13, 2020, I haven’t known what my future would hold, from the parts of my senior year that I’d always hoped and dreamed of to what my first year at college would be like.

But after so many months of isolation, lockdowns and distancing, hearing that KU would be reopening its campus for the 2021 fall semester was an absolute godsend.

Still, entering my first year of college during the middle of a pandemic was worrisome. I, like many other students, had tons of questions and what if’s going through my mind. What if the pandemic wasn’t gone by the end of the 2020-2021 school year? What if my first season of collegiate field hockey was cut short or taken away entirely?

Or what if KU decides to stick with virtual learning? What if when I get there, I’m stuck in my dorm for days at a time? What if they mandate the COVID-19 vaccine? What will happen if I test positive? Everything was so uncertain, and the vast unknown terrified me.

However, aside from wearing masks in buildings and mandatory COVID-19 tests for unvaccinated athletes, things turned out to be somewhat normal.

I am indescribably grateful to have this in-person and on-campus experience for my freshman year. It reminds me how lucky I am here at KU.

Before COVID-19, it was easy to take simple things for granted, like my education, playing field hockey and having the ability to hang out with my friends.

COVID-19 has made 2020-2021 a roller coaster, but since being on that roller coaster, I realize that being on the KU campus is a blessing, and I don’t intend to take it for granted.