Back 2 School

It’s been a while since I’ve been in (in-person) classes. I vividly remember the last in-person class I went to before this semester, it was calc 2 in Ryder Hall in spring semester 2020. The whole talk of the class was rumors about us having to transition into online classes and leave campus. It’s a whole 2 years later, spring 2022, and it’s my first time back in in-person classes. I was on co-op last semester, so it’s really felt like I haven’t been in a “normal” class for so long. I’m honestly still trying to get used to it — my attention span for classes has decreased significantly from when classes moved to online and I’m really struggling to stay focused in classes now. I get distracted so easily; I find myself going on NUWORKS, answering emails, looking at flights, doing work for clubs, or literally anything but listening to the professor. I know a lot of my friends who were on the same co-op cycle as me and just returning to in-person classes are in the same boat, so it’s nice to not feel alone. I’m going to list three strategies for myself and anyone else that may be going through the same struggle:

• Aim to participate in each class at least once — whether that be asking or answering a question, making a comment, etc. This will force you to be more of an active listener and push you to actually understand and think about what the professor is saying.
• Take notes. Even if it’s the type of class where you don’t really take notes in, try to at least jot down key concepts.
• Keep your laptop closed if you don’t need it. It is so easy to switch to another tab, the temptation is so strong when the opportunity is right there — just try to avoid this situation by keeping your laptop closed if you don’t need it.