What I Miss Most about Flinders
Photography by AMY BENNETT.
WORDS BY TAYGAN BEATON.
It’s true university life isn’t perfect, and there’s nothing like escaping into the sunshine after the semester’s last exam. However, it was not my intention to spend the better part of a year off campus when I enrolled; studying from home was not part of the deal. The end of semester let’s-get-outta-here feeling, when contrasted against not having a choice, has left me with some things I miss most about Flinders.
I miss fellow students. As an introverted person, I could not have guessed the positive effect the buzz of people around me had on my studying experience. Completing a degree where many great minds are (and have been) working together leaves an impression you cannot recreate at home. I miss the commotion of students, ducks, and baristas, as well as the hum that ‘studying’ creates in the library.
I miss the in-class teaching environments. Through not being on-campus I found there are numerous benefits to frequenting lectures in real time. For instance, one can ask questions in the moment rather than write emails later or brave the collaborate chat box. My concentration (though it may not have seemed so at 9am) is far better off-line, an effect I have attributed to the boring lecture hall, in which a pacing teacher becomes the focus. A tiny screen version of my lecturer pales in interest when compared with the potential activities my home offers.
I miss structured days. I never thought it was possible, but freedom to choose can sometimes mean that nothing gets done. I do not miss waking up for early classes, but I certainly miss the semester being a group effort, rather than my own time management nightmare. I like lecturers presenting material to a schedule, instead of releasing 2019’s lectures all at once (I am aware semester two will likely be more organised). I enjoy the kerfuffle of grabbing a quick coffee between classes and breaking up the day with short library visits.
I miss meeting friends in class. Not the convenience, but rather the joy. Scanning the room for familiar faces you may not otherwise see is a large part of my on-campus university experience. It was not until the sociality of it all was lacking, that I noticed gaping uni friend shaped holes in my social life.
In the words of Joni Mitchell, ‘don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone’. I sincerely hope our lively campus life will start up again soon.
EDITORIAL NOTE: This article has been reuploaded and was originally published in 2020.