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| The closest thing to posing by the campus sign with a printed dissertation. |
I have to admit that this year has been rough with the pandemic. My second year ended prematurely when I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go home so I wouldn't be spending a lockdown on my own. I thought I'd be home for a couple of weeks. Instead, I ended up being stuck at home for six months, with only two trips to Leicester to clear out my flat and return the keys. That resulted in a pretty lonely and miserable summer, because even if I could go out, very few of my friends still lived in the local area. Plus I didn't have the same level of independence at home that I'd have in my student accommodation. Those six months at home were the ultimate reason I decided to move back to my accommodation even though everything was going to be remote; so I could be my own man. I was actually reluctant to go home at Christmas in case there was another lockdown and I ended up going through all that again.
My third year timetable was kind of bare. I had a virtual workshop every Monday for Professional Writing Skills, and a workshop every other Wednesday for Specialism and Negotiated Study which was in-person for one workshop then subsequently moved online. Everything else was my Portfolio, which was Creative Writing's equivalent of a dissertation, which spanned two modules. It often seemed like I was the only person who had their camera turned on. Mostly to ensure that A) I was wearing a shirt, and B) the bar on my desk was out of shot. The virtual workshops were fun, but I was a little disappointed that the Specialism one was only two hours (in the past, workshops that were every other week clocked in at three hours). That did make Tuesdays feel weird, since that was my busiest day in my first and second years.
That covers the academic stuff, but the social side hasn't been so great, which is something that has really done a number on my mental health. With the pandemic, most of the societies went into decline with the need to be virtual. Some societies, such as Laser Tag and Medieval Re-Enactment, couldn't move online and just stopped entirely. Others, like Creative Writing and Nintendo, moved online and eventually just fizzled out when people stopped coming to the sessions. The only society which kept regular sessions was the Game Society, thanks to the move to virtual table-tops like Roll20. While I'm looking to return to running in-person games for the Game Society, I'm tempted to keep running more publicly advertised games via Roll20.
I just wish I'd been more social with people on my course. In my first year, my social life had mostly been via societies. I'd tried organising virtual socials for people on the course at various points throughout the year. Unfortunately, these failed to yield any takers, and I ultimately gave up after a final attempt in May to celebrate handing everything in. I guess I'm just too old, and pushed too far. Pretty much all my social events this year have been with alumni, or with other social circles not met through university, and one Jackbox party with a mix of people from different societies to celebrate my birthday.
With that in mind, I can't help but feel cheated. This third year often felt like languishing in a soulless 9 to 5, which was something I went to university to get away from. And now I feel that I'm being forced to live in that life while missing out on the fun I could have had. All the pub trips, parties, and socials which make student life fun have essentially been taken away from me by this pandemic, and I kind of want it back. But that's a drunken lament I've probably talked about before.
So, what is my plan? Well, I've managed to find a new place to move into once my tenancy finishes at my student accommodation. I'm also looking at freelance writing work, having landed my first ghostwriting job. But that isn't enough to live on, so I'll need to find something on top of that. I'm thinking of copywriting, but I'd go for anything that lets me be creative.
Only time will tell.
