What it feels like to graduate in a pandemic

It feels scary. 

But I think it would probably feel scary if it wasn't a pandemic as well. It's just that now there are slightly fewer jobs and society is kind of a whole different place from what it used to be.

And it's exciting and kind of a relief.

doing the final work during a pandemic

It was brilliant to be able to go back to living in York during my final term of university, although sad to know it would be my last term at the same time. I stopped having any teaching and all the work was up to me. I had to write up my final project which I wrote about an experiment a group of students and I did about plastic-free products as alternatives to plastic ones and how people's behavioural intentions were influences by different social norms like subjective, descriptive and environmental control. I also had two exams left for like last two modules which I had to revise for and practise writing essays for.

We spent most of our days indoors on our laptops and had to force ourselves to get outside, especially if the weather was bad. When the weather improved, we occasionally took our work out to campus to study outside there instead. I love sitting outside in the sun so this made the work that much more bearable. Although so did knowing that in a few weeks time we'd be finished with our degrees. 

doing exams during a pandemic

With exams, it felt good to be able to have the same online format as I had during the summer 2020 and spring 2021 exams because there was stability and I had gotten out of the habit of memorising content. It was really strange to sit in my university bedroom and house while the sun was shining and do exams from my laptop and I definitely took longer to complete them than was advised.

trying to celebrate during a pandemic

I think we managed to do this in our own small way. Embracing the sun, all the things there was to do in the city, meeting up with friends whenever it was permitted and taking the train to new places.

I travelled to Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds, and Scarborough which were all brilliant days out and had pretty good weather too. I spent days just literally sitting in a park in the sun with my book and knowing I had no commitments which was thrilling. 

actually received the grades and confirmation

Getting the grades was strange and surreal because it was just a notification on my phone and then some numbers calculated to come out with a grade and I found it out when I was in the house without all my friends. It was definitely strange and felt like an anticlimax after all the hard work I'd put in over the three years.

summer holidays

I made the most of the summer and visited the Flamborough and York area for a week and then visited South Wales for a week. Both were brilliant and much needed holidays of rest and sun and reading and hiking. 

Although it felt weird knowing this wasn't a summer holiday that was a break between education, it was a summer holiday at the end of education, which is such a weird feeling. But I tried to forget that for the moment and just enjoy the summer holidays. 

having a graduation ceremony online

This was incredibly disappointing. There were three ceremonies, an hour each, for sciences, social sciences and humanities. Each one was not live but involved pre-recorded speeches and a scrolling list of the graduates' names while someone (pre-recorded) read out the title of each degree.

I did get to see my name appear in the scrolling and a lot of my friend's names which was really cool to see. I just wish the university had put a little more time and effort into the ceremony or at least done the whole thing live like it would have been in normal times.

After that was a department ceremony, where my psychology department gave a little speech and then showed a video that the department's choir had made. This was live and felt really special and like they'd take the time and effort. 

what do I do next...

Well, apply for jobs. Hopefully in publishing, journalism or the arts sector.

Do some volunteering. Like a weekly shift at an Oxfam Bookshop. And at the Norwich Science Festival.

And enjoy the second summer that has just arrived in the UK in early September.

*** well done us for graduating ***

All pictures are mine from throughout my final term at the University of York.