Since the beginning of the Trump Administration on January 21, 2025, most, if not all, social media we receive has been plagued with the latest updates. This includes executive orders, legislation, airline tragedies, and press conferences that have taken place since this new administration has presided over the authority of the United States and its constitution.
Ever since the election, I have dealt with feelings of loss, hopelessness, desperation, and frustration. Since this new administration began, these feelings have been amplified and thus worsened. We now live in a reality many of us thought wasn’t possible a few months ago (because why would we think anyone would elect this man again?). All of the fears and warnings of what would happen if he should come into power are now coming true.
It is one thing to read and learn about all the hypothetical plans and initiatives his campaign wanted to enact; it’s another to see them being carried out in front of our eyes. To watch people’s rights, livelihoods, and basic principles be stripped from them or seriously threatened is terrifying, disheartening, and gut-wrenching.
What follows next is feelings of hopelessness, doubt, and anxiety, questioning why we feel so helpless. It feels like we just sit in our rooms, the library, classrooms, or the dining hall, watching all these orders and bills destroy people’s lives. We are stuck in an endless cycle of fear, desperation, sadness, and so much more. You may have even found yourself lying in bed late at night, staring at the ceiling, your mind spinning in circles trying to make sense of what’s happening in the world when you realize: I’m so tired.
Well, at least this happened to me, and it’s continuing to. I got to a point where I was so busy reading the news and fearing for the future that I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was letting myself get to an unhealthy level of anxiety and stress. It was then that I realized things had to change and started developing new habits to focus on myself (while still processing what was going on in the world).
One thing that has helped me is taking walks when classes and student activity on campus are dying down. I find a bench and write in my journal about anything and everything (even the latest news that gives me anxiety). Having the fresh, cold air hit my face and sitting outside allows me to calm myself and gives me space to breathe.
Another thing that has helped is talking to my roommate and my friends at BU, and even my friends and family from back home. Talking with the people closest to me has allowed me to realize that I’m not alone in the way that I feel. I have expressed how I’ve been feeling and know that I have amazing people to rely on, and they can rely on me too.
I’ve also started trying new activities, like learning how to sew, and have gotten back into reading and writing. Additionally, I sought out organizations and movements to join that are tackling and fighting back on the issues that I care most about. By getting more involved, we can show our resistance to the current administration and advocate for what we are most passionate about.
In this current world, it can feel like everything is on fire. We must rely on one another and our communities, especially when it comes to the current political climate. Now is the time to advocate for ourselves and those around us and show that we won’t take things lying down. Simultaneously, we have to take care of ourselves and our well-being, because if we don’t, we’ll be stuck in this never-ending cycle of fear, unable to push forward and stand up for the causes we believe in.
Make sure to stay safe and take care of yourselves!
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