Since last March we’ve been living our lives through our screens. Every meeting, every gathering—class and work—are online, and there’s no way around it in the near future. That’s why after our two-month “winter break,” coming back to school seems more daunting than ever. Last semester, every single class I was signed up for turned out to be asynchronous.
To be honest, I had no idea what that word meant until we started online school, and now, I never want to hear it again. For those of you who may not know, it essentially means that classes do not meet and you’re teaching yourself. Being my own teacher as a junior in college was something I never thought I would have to do, and it’s been really hard not just for me but for most college students.
The first two weeks of classes have been rough, and I’ll be the first to admit it. Even though we technically weren’t in school for those two months, it still feels harder than ever to get back into the school mindset. For me, I think that my problem is that I live in a small college apartment, and I don’t have a lot of workspace available. My bedroom is my classroom, where I sleep, where I hang out with my friends and where I spend most of my downtime.
During the winter, it’s much harder to find COVID-19 safe activities because I spent most of my time during the summer outside in parks or places where you can socially distance yourself. So when school started back up, it felt like it never ended. I have been finding it extremely hard to focus because school and going on TikTok are feeling increasingly more similar. I’ve been challenging myself to be more creative in the ways I spend my time now in hopes of creating a routine that feels less mundane.
For me, a change of scenery has helped a lot. Instead of doing all of my classes in my room, I’ll move into the living room for some of them. It helps me feel like each class has a different space. I am also trying to get outside at least once a day, despite the cold. A quick walk in between classes can clear your head and give you the much needed fresh air everyone has been craving. Exercising has also had a positive effect on my motivation.
I’ve found that starting my morning with yoga will help me not think about school work as soon as I wake up. I think that the bottom line for all of us is that it’s okay to feel like this. It’s okay to feel like school is never-ending because, to be honest, it feels like it is. We owe it to ourselves to take a break once in a while. Staring at a screen all day is not an easy thing to do regardless of what people tell you. It’s time to prioritize yourself and give your brain a break—I know mine needs one.