Since the beginning of the semester, this has been one of the most substantial learning experiences of my life. Not from my online classes, not from the endless schoolwork, not from my notes I should have taken, but from life itself. I have learned that we take for granted the moments of our everyday lives. We don’t appreciate the small things such as hanging out with friends, walking to class, or just living freely, until it is all taken from us in the blink of an eye. I remember hating having to wake up at 8 am to walk across campus to my class and sit there half asleep. But now, I would much rather walk across campus at 8 am than walk across my room to my desk in the corner at 8 am. I have learned that those things that just seem “normal” aren’t to be take for granted at all. Experiencing the fun and joyfulness of our second semester of college for a few weeks just to have it taking away from us is almost torture. It’s like giving a glimpse of what should have been, but it never actually happening. We are supposed to be having the time of our lives, making memories to carry throughout our lifetime, but instead, we are cooped up in our houses for days on end. So what is my takeaway from the start of the semester? Enjoy every experience you are given. Don’t take for granted the time you have to make this life great. As we keep growing up, our time here continues to shorten, and this virus has taken so much valuable time away from our youthful college days. Nothing will be able to make up for the time thats passed, but when this is over, we will rejoice our lives by making new memories that we may have missed out on. I have learned to enjoy the outdoors, the company of others, and the freedom of being alive since the beginning of second semester of college.

“Enjoy every experience you are given.” This lesson is definitely one we have all learned to appreciate during this pandemic. Reading this piece definitely made me think about how much I miss being able to hang out with my friends in person. I really enjoyed the structure of this. The opening sentence and closing sentences are strong and frame the piece well.
~Helen Dotchel
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I liked how you said “I would much rather walk across campus at 8 am than walk across my room to my desk in the corner at 8 am”. Walking all the way across campus early in the morning seemed annoying, especially on cold days. But now there is nothing more annoying that doing all your school work in the corner of your all day. I also liked how your last sentence summed up everything you have learned since the start of the semester. It was a nice way to tie it all together.
-Mihalis Hrisafinis
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I totally agree with this sentence, “We don’t appreciate the small things such as hanging out with friends, walking to class, or just living freely, until it is all taken from us in the blink of an eye.” Never in a million years would have I thought we would be finishing our second semester of freshman year at home. It is really crazy how life can just change within seconds. I never thought I would miss walking to my 8 AM class.
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I completely agree, Looking back now I wish I had done more with my first year at UD. There was so much to do and it was always better to go exploring campus that barricade in my dorm room. Learning to live on my own and fend for myself was new and definitely provided challenges especially with my time management. I really enjoy how you wrote this and found it a very relatable piece.
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