9:00 a.m. – I wake up and scroll through my phone (usually wasting a lot of time). Sometimes I hop on TikTok where I end up on #briggstok or YikYak where I see comments that seem more real than the conversations I have in life because they are spoken without the fear of recognition.
9:30 a.m. – I get out of bed (finally) and get ready. Recently, I’ve been really excited to get dressed for the day because it’s getting colder in Chapel Hill, so I can wear my sweaters.
10:00 a.m. – I leave my room and walk down my suite hallway. I live with my floor’s RA. There is a bowl of stickers and candy outside of her door. The bowl was placed out before the rest of the Halloween decorations — on October 11th.
10:01 a.m. – I open my suite’s door to the outdoor walkway. There is a Post-it Note on the door.
10:03 a.m. – I walk to the door to my floor’s common area. There is a Post-it Note on the door.
10:04 a.m. – I wait for the elevator. There is a Post-it Note under the elevator’s up and down buttons.
10:06 a.m. – I get into the elevator and press the button for the ground floor. There is a Post-it Note beside the elevator’s floor buttons.
10:08 a.m. – I get off the elevator and walk out my dorm’s front door. There are multiple Post-it Notes on the door.
10:10 a.m. – I get on the bus to North Campus.
10:30 a.m. – I get off the bus and head to the Millholland Azalea Garden outside of Carroll Hall to do some school work outside before class starts.
10:50 a.m. – I head inside Carroll Hall for my first and only in-person class of the day.
11 a.m. – My class starts.
12:15 p.m. – My class ends. I head to Lenoir Dining Hall for lunch.
12:20 p.m. – I meet my friend outside of Lenoir and head up to the second floor.
12:30 p.m. – My friend and I start eating. I do not vary my meals very much which I should probably work on.
1:20 p.m. – I head to Davis Library to work on my class assignments and do zoom calls for my virtual classes. I tend to sit in the first floor’s main room. I really like the environment as I am not alone in a quiet or small place. I do not like how over half of the outlets do not work.
3 p.m. – I head to the restroom. It’s usually not very fun, as that bathroom, in particular, is never very clean. I am bombarded with posters about events and clubs to join. And mental health resources. Those are newer.
6 p.m. – I head back to Lenoir for dinner.
7:30 p.m. – I head back to Davis to continue working. I really need to work on my variety.
9:30 p.m. – I leave Davis and start my walk back to South Campus. I know I shouldn’t be walking back that late, but it always happens. I really need to work on that too.
9:50 p.m. – I arrive back at my dorm on South Campus. I walk up the stairs and go through the doors. There are multiple Post-it Notes on the door.
10:00 p.m. – I wait for the elevator. There is a Post-it Note under the elevator’s up and down buttons.
10:04 p.m. – I get into the elevator and press the button for my floor. There is a Post-it Note beside the elevator’s floor buttons.
10:08 p.m. – I get off the elevator and walk out of my floor’s common area’s door. There are multiple Post-it Notes on the door.
10:09 p.m. – I open my suite’s door. There is a Post-it Note on the door.
10:10 p.m. -I walk down my suite hallway. I live with my floor’s RA. There is a bowl of stickers and candy outside of her door. The bowl was placed out before the rest of the Halloween decorations — on October 11th.
10:11 p.m. – I enter my room and say hello to my roommate.
10:20 p.m. – I hop in the shower and prepare for bed.
10:30 p.m. – I finish up my work and re-do my planner for the next day.
11:30 p.m. – I get in bed and try to sleep. I usually waste a good amount of time on my phone before bed as well – clearly, I live a very repetitive life.
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And that’s just one day. Not a day when I am stressed about an upcoming exam or a day when I have to get a package from Hinton James where I pass a memorial for a classmate.
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* What I hope anyone takes from this article is that a mental health crisis is still happening at UNC-CH and across the world. It didn’t stop after professors gave extensions on assignments. It didn’t stop after a singular mental health day. It didn’t stop after people put up Post-it Notes and mental health resources. Trust me, I know this from personal experience.
The crisis will continue. I don’t know if it will ever end, and I clearly don’t know how to fix it. So please know that even if you feel fine, there are others around you who don’t and could use a stranger’s kindness. And if you are struggling, know that there are others around you feeling the same way – you just might not be able to see them.
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Mental Health Resources At UNC-CH
Counseling and Psychological Resources