I don’t know about you readers, but exclusively taking online classes used to sound like such a dream to me. Getting to hang out with friends, perhaps travel AND get a degree: it all just seemed like such a bullet-proof, fun life to live as a young twenty-year-old. Nothing could go wrong… Pft. If only our future selves could warn us of what was to come.
Is anyone else having a difficult time grasping how we are supposed to excel in school, try our best not to get Corona and then, on top of all that, defund the police? I mean, at this point, even opening Twitter feels like a death sentence. It’s not even just us (the students) who are struggling. Our professors are going through it too! Having to create a whole lesson plan and then execute it flawlessly online honestly could give me an anxiety attack just thinking about it. It’s been hard trying to hang out with friends or even really schedule plans with anyone too. The first thought that comes to mind for me is, “Have they been socially distancing?” and isn’t that just such a mood killer. Like now, I need a whole list of who they’ve been hanging out with, and it’s just such a headache. I think we can all agree that this year has been the messiest of them all.
I don’t want to pretend like everything is going well right now when it isn’t. It isn’t for a lot of people, and I wish that wasn’t the case, but we are going through both a really heartbreaking and also healing moment in our history. I haven’t heard this many people having conversations about race or seen this many people stand up for black people’s right to live in my entire life. I’m not even just saying that to be dramatic, but seeing this many people join this movement because they see and value us is a feeling I, as a black woman, never thought I’d feel, let alone feel like in America. A lot of us youngsters have not seen anything like this, which is why this moment, while excruciatingly difficult, is so important. Make sure to take time for yourself and do things that bring you peace when you can’t feel any (for example, I binge watch Netflix). And don’t be afraid to email your professors if you need an extension or assistance in the class in any way. Just like they communicate with us when they have difficulties uploading material or whatever it may be, they understand we are going to get some things wrong too and usually are more than willing to help us out. I hope you all have professors that are patient, but if you don’t or are uncomfortable asking your professor for help, your advisor is just an email away! Just get yourself comfortable as soon as you can because I’m not sure how long this online schooling mambo jumbo is going to last.
A lot of people recognize that life has become increasingly difficult so I feel like we’ve all become more empathetic towards each other—it’s just a matter of us asking each other for help when we need it and cherishing happy moments when we come across them. Recently, every time I watch videos of animated food with those Lofi beat instrumentals I feel like I can forget about all the struggles we’ve faced (and probably will continue to face this year) and focus on this one cartoon tomato being cut and put in a soup. It’s very brief, but it’s the little things you know? Anyway, I have faith in you, reader. Both of us will succeed this semester the way only we know how to, and I’m sending all the good vibes your way. You got this homie.
Your Friend,
Niya