First semester fever dream
While some found an instant community on Spring Hill’s campus through the upperclassmen, others had more difficulty meeting people and making friends. Natalie Justice, a freshman from Louisville, Kentucky, describes what the first semester felt like for her as she entered campus not knowing a soul.
“One of the hardest things about last fall was making friends,” said Justice, “my Badger Connection guides had told me that I’d meet a lot of people by going to events like Beginnings retreat, but since things were so different this year, what usually happened didn’t.” Justice recalls the school being focused on enforcing COVID safety protocols like making sure students stayed six feet apart and that masks were worn correctly instead of integrating the freshmen class. “We weren’t given the opportunity to get to know people,” said Justice.
Her friends, Lori Chestang, a commuter from McIntosh, Alabama, and Ana Morrell from New Orleans, Louisiana agreed with Justice. “It was hard making friends because not only did I not live on campus, but there were also no events to attend,” said Chestang.
In addition to there not being many social events, Justice explained that having a majority of virtual classes also hindered her ability to meet people. The limited social interaction left Justice feeling as
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if she stuck in “a fever dream.” To her, the first semester was not the great ‘college experience’ her family and friends had told her it would be. Instead, she felt as if she was “going through the motions rather than actually living the college experience.”
“The first semester was a blur, and making friends seemed to be the hardest part of it all,” said Morrell. Despite limited in-person interaction, the three girls managed to find each other and become friends. Justice said that the main way she reached out to people was through social media. “I remember that Ana had posted something on her Snapchat story, and it made me laugh so hard that I told myself I had to reach out,” said Justice.
Luckily, the fever dream only lasted through the first semester for the three girls. As COVID protocols started to lighten up and social gatherings on campus started to happen, the group felt as if they were becoming more a part of the hill.
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