With so many students not able to return to campus this semester, many are living off-campus with commuter status, rather than living at home. One FSC student, however, is doing both.
Senior philosophy major Emily Wills is adjusting to her first semester as a commuter.
Wills has lived in Lakeland her entire life, and she is the 32nd person in her family to attend Florida Southern College. While she has a lot of family in the area, she has always resided on campus, and this is the longest she has been at home since high school. However, she still remains very involved on campus, holding many club positions, including president of the Women’s Advocacy Club.
“My schedule itself isn’t very different,” Wills said. “The only difference is some things don’t involve a commute now.”
Because she does not have to function as a fully remote student, Wills is still on campus some days of the week to go to class or meet up with friends for food. However, being a commuter has its disadvantages, such as no longer having a meal plan.
“The weirdest part is trying to figure out the food spots,” Wills said. “We don’t go to all the same places anymore.”
With new changes and situations come new essential must-have items. For Wills, that item is a little notebook, which she keeps on her at all times to jot down notes, thoughts and ideas. She has started doing things in her daily routine that she didn’t do before, such as writing.
“Journaling has become a good way to deal with the stress of online learning,” Wills said.
Living at home does present new challenges. With the varying schedules of different members of her family and new distractions, Wills admitted to difficulties in keeping her work on track. This is partly due to the fact that the people she is constantly around are not always dealing with the same things as her.
“The hardest part is time management and staying on top of things,” Wills said.
The senior has also found that there are both pros and cons when it comes to contacting professors virtually.
“I’m definitely an in-person kind of student, so it’s been a little difficult forcing myself to schedule Zoom meetings when I’d usually just pop by the office,” Wills said. “But since I’m working mostly from home, it’s been easier to work meetings into my schedule!”
