I can see it now, standing in the heart of the student section at Beaver Stadium during the annual White-Out game, singing along Sweet Caroline on an electric Saturday Night as the football team wins yet another game putting us in a playoff seat. So close yet so far. That's how I imagined my Saturdays at Penn State to be as a freshman, not sitting in my dorm room, yet again, deciding whether I should have microwavable Mac & Cheese or Cheerios for dinner.

I don't want to be negative about this because essentially, I got what I wanted. I moved almost 4 hours away from home into my dream school and I didn't have to have my fall semester be all virtual like so many other schools. However, I can't help but feel disappointed. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love it here, but I just wish it was "normal".

Whenever anyone mentions college the typical response is that these years will be the best of your life. They hype it up to be some sort of end all be all time that's a turning point for your future. What they don't tell you is that the first few weeks can suck. It can be uncomfortable and awkward, which the pandemic doesn't help with.

Not only is it weird getting thrown into a completely new environment full of people you don't know yet, but meeting new people with masks on and trying to maintain social distance makes it even worse. Making friends just became ten times harder, with no classes to go to, no club meetings in person, and no campus activities to find your people. It's not impossible, but there are more obstacles in your way.

You can't ignore the risk others enforce every time they don't abide but the universities set guidelines. All of the money and effort that you put towards your education is threatened with each party and social gathering. I don't know about you, but I was hoping on staying for the full semester, not just staying for a two-week summer camp and getting robbed of thousands of dollars. It's not hard to wear a mask people. Respect others. Thank you!

Seeing as I'm only going into my second week as a freshman, I still have a lot to learn and experience. Who knows, maybe these will turn out to be some of the best years and I just don't know it yet? I'm excited to see where this road leads me because I know it's only the beginning and there is so much left to do. Take it from me, it's weird for everyone. No one was exactly prepared to have to start off their journey like this, take advantage of that.