This is a different post than usual, but I’ve been thinking about this all week as it’s been my first week with live lectures and not online classes. It’s definetely been a huge change and I wanted to share my thoughts with you on how it affects the every-day life and how we perceive things. So no book-related content for today.
Uni last semester
Last semester, so October to February, was my first semester of studying Law in Munich (and ever, I graduated Highschool last summer). All we had live at uni were two study groups each week with about 20 people where we had to prepare cases and then solved them with a tutor. So more like a school and not university feeling. I had terrible anxiety when I first moved to Munich, because: how are you supposed to find new friends when you have barely any chance to get to know anyone? No welcome parties, no introduction workshops or any other get-together that was live. Looking back now, I am incredibly grateful to have found such a great group of friends (and study group, but we mostly chat) by just talking to strangers in those two live lessons each week.
Getting to know people – the struggle of approaching someone
I didn’t used to be a very open person when meeting new people. I would stick to the back and let the others talk. Maybe do a little small talk, but nothing more. All it took me to find my new friends was to randomly text a girl with a nice sounding name in a WhatsApp group of 300 people (mind you, because I thought her name sounded nice), give a girl on the bus my number and sit next to girls and just start talking. And each of those steps took me a huge amount of courage, because I’m not extroverted.
But the thing is: everyone was looking to make friends and so everyone was happy when approached. That definetely made it easier. And now, at the start of my second semester, I can proudly admit to myself that I no longer find it terribly intimidating to meet new people. Of course, still a bit of anxiety – will they like me, what am I going to say, what if we don’t know what to talk about -, but I think I have opened up and am ready to face the almost 900 strangers sitting next to me in lectures now.
My monotonous routine last semester
Having everything online meant for me: sometimes lectures in bed, everyday in my pjs, not seeing many people and just generally being to TikTok a LOT. For the first four months, I lived with my cousin and while I love her and loved living with her, I am now growing more than ever living in my 1-bedroom apartment by myself. I invite friends, I cook and clean whenever I like and I am independent in everything I do. I have decided to stop watching TikToks entirely and have not been on TikTok ever since that drastic decision in January and I am thankful for that every day. I still have Instagram and that is the only social media I use (except for snapchat and WhatsApp for friends). Click here for my experience with social media detox.
The last two months – time between semesters
For the last two months, I have had a semester break (I don’t know how to call it, we call it semesterfreie Zeit – time with no lectures, not a break!) and my life has changed immensely during these two months. My best friend I had made in Munich decided that she would move back home, which left me incredibly sad – but we are still visiting one another and remain super close! But then: I bonded with a girl I had been friends with for a short time, because we decided to go to the gym together. And we have not spent more than two days without each other since and I am incredibly grateful to have her in my life now.
We had two huge assignments over the break and that meant library time for us. I had never studied in the library before, but it’s such a game changer and I am now going at least three times a week: it’s quiet, you get to study together and you can’t do anything else, so you’re forced to be productive.
On to the main point: the new semester
Besides writing my first exam last Friday, it was such a great week: I loved actually going to university, sitting with my friends, eating lunch together and just hanging out. Not watching the lectures at home, but while sitting with your friends, making jokes. It was a great feeling and has proven again to me that I’m on the right path, made the right decisions.
I can’t wait for the rest of the semester!
This was a rather personal post and maybe I’ve written this as much for me as I’ve written it to actually post it. To get my thoughts straight and just write everything down, to focus on what I’m feeling and how I’m progressing the first semester.
Blogger Books 