The big trip around the world, a sabbatical or the atmosphere in the Audimax: the corona pandemic is massively changing the plans of young people after graduating from high school.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen - Finally after twelve years of buffalo freedom: Looking back, the time after high school is the most carefree phase of life for many people.
For the graduates of the Corona year 2020, however, many opportunities fell into the water to enjoy the newly gained free time.
Extravagant celebrations with the whole year?
Sandra Bennewitz actually wanted to take a year off from studying, “travel a bit, earn money and see something of the world,” says the 19-year-old Geretsriederin.
She had not yet imagined specific destinations when the pandemic thwarted her plans.
Small trips to Italy and a family visit to Bosnia were still possible in the summer, otherwise “unfortunately not so much of my plans went”.
Bennewitz recalls that she tried to use the time as best she could anyway.
But because she quickly realized that the possibilities for this were limited at the moment, the Geretsriederin decided to start a distance learning course in International Business Administration as early as 2020.
The 19-year-old cannot see any major differences to the everyday life of her former classmates who study at a classroom university.
“At the moment everyone is practically doing distance learning,” she says.
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Sandra Bennewitz from Geretsried - studying instead of traveling around the world
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Bennewitz will only continue to study on the laptop if the former classmates actually go to the lecture hall.
“That's a good thing, then I can work on the side,” she says.
Perhaps the 19-year-old will at some point, possibly after completing her bachelor's degree, catch up on her time-out, including long-distance travel, that was originally planned after graduation.
"But I'll let that happen to me."
Abitfahrt was possible, but slimmed down
When Bennewitz received her certificate last year, Manuel Wehbe was also sitting in the auditorium of the Geretsrieder grammar school and was happy about his university entrance qualification.
“At a slimmed-down event with fewer speakers and only one parent per student,” remembers the Wolfratshauser.
He couldn't toast the graduation during the prom with his buddies.
Like so many other things, the event was canceled.
“That was a shame,” says Wehbe.
After all, some classmates organized a school trip to Corfu and had a good time in the Mediterranean sun.
"It was also different there than usual. A few activities had to be canceled."
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Happy in Innsbruck: Manuel Wehbe from Wolfratshausen
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The now 19-year-old began studying quickly after graduating from high school.
The business student in Innsbruck rarely gets to see his fellow students: "At the beginning we had a few face-to-face meetings, but that has been over for a while," says the Wolfratshauser.
Weekly commute trips to his home country were now possible without any problems.
However, when the Robert Koch Institute recently declared the Austrian state of Tyrol to be a mutation area, it became difficult to see the family.
“I prefer to stay here at the moment because it's easier,” says Wehbe.
He already feels at home doing winter sports in the middle of the Alps.
This is currently allowed in Tyrol.
The fellow students?
Mostly unknown
Franziska Selter has less balance to everyday university life.
The 18-year-old has been a political science student at the LMU in Munich for six months.
The woman from Tölzer also sees little of her fellow students - since then exactly three times.
There have been two face-to-face meetings and a spontaneously organized meeting since the beginning of the course, otherwise all lectures take place in your own room in front of the laptop.
"Of course, I still get the content of the course, but the interpersonal skills are very missing," says Selter.
"It is different whether you write messages on WhatsApp and discuss online meetings or whether you have a conversation partner in front of you."
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Study at the desk: Franziska Selter
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Last early summer, Selter received her diploma with a dream grade of 1.0 at the Gabriel-von-Seidl-Gymnasium in Tölzer.
She actually wanted to celebrate the result on a trip with a friend.
“We then had concerns about the corona pandemic,” she recalls.
The trip has been postponed indefinitely.
“Instead, I was looking forward to going to concerts and events,” she says.
This wish to graduate from high school has also remained a pious one so far.
Also read: The youth centers are in lockdown - that brings big problems for the boys.
