Facing a global pandemic at the final stretch of university

As I'm sitting at my halls-of-residence desk on my final morning at university, my attention is drawn past my laptop and out of the window towards the complex. I have noticed a lot of movement recently, and it seems like everyone is moving frantically to get away.

It's a very different vibe compared to my usual scenery, where I'd see the odd student hoisting an overflowing bag of washing to the laundry room, or a group of friends carrying pizza boxes from a delivery driver, back to their flats for an indulgent night-in.

This new setting feels eerie, but I can't stop watching.

Families have travelled from afar to pick up their children and take them home where they'll be safe from the fast-spreading virus that is COVID-19. It's been like this for a few days now, and I'm not surprised that everyone wants to be with their loved ones during this worrying and unsettling time.

What pushed me to write this post was seeing two people sharing a long and emotional hug before walking their separate ways with their families, which made me believe that this is goodbye for a while.

The friends that you make in the first year of university are vital when you move away from home, because they become your second family in a time that is daunting and intimidating.

COVID-19 has forced not only ours, but every university to end face-to-face contact, and has robbed these freshers of their final few months at university - a time that is supposed to be filled with fun, laughter and opportunity.

While I feel sorry for them, I'm particularly gutted about how my own experience has come to an end. I'm a third-year student living in halls along with the same people I've lived with since the beginning, three years ago. We've formed a close bond since we met in September 2017, and we were making the most of what we thought were the final few months at this weird and wonderful world that is uni. Little did we know the end would come far sooner than we had expected.

I'm lucky enough to study on a small course of around 20 people, where everyone knows each other and the lecturers treat us as friends. My university journey has been a tough one for sure, particularly over the past year, but I was just starting to really enjoy myself again and was looking forward to the rewarding end-of-year celebrations, which no longer will be happening.

I'm not complaining in any way, as I'm lucky to be healthy at this frightening time, and there are people who are going through much tougher times than I am. Nonetheless, this virus has affected every single person in the world in one way or another, however big or small that may be.

I'm sad because my time at university was cut short, I won't see my housemates or classmates for god knows how long, and I won't get to celebrate my achievements on our 'last day'. At a time of uncertainty, we simply have to crack on with our final assessments and dissertations and hopefully have a virtual party to celebrate the end of the course. It just won't be the same.

While people are going through a lot worse with losing their jobs and even loved ones, it's OK to feel sad about what's happening around us as students. It feels devastating for us that all of our hard work has come to a very abrupt end and we won't get the celebrated ending that we'd hoped and longed for, and thoroughly deserved. Everyone deals with upsetting times differently, we've just got to try to keep going and remember that everything will turn out okay in the end and this won't last forever.