Life hasn’t been the same for the past couple of weeks for a lot of college students and myself.
Remember going out to eat at your favorite restaurant? Casual social gatherings with friends? Even something simple, like going to class on campus. There are days of sunshine and cool breezes instead of gray clouds and rain, and we’re not able to enjoy it fully.
Day by day, I realize I took the little things for granted. That most of us are privileged. Before life took a slight turn for worst, I remember joking with my professor that I hope I’d see him again. I would have never thought that day would be our last in-person meeting.
Being an introvert and homebody, you would think that life would be easy for a person like me. I already like being in the house, and social interactions aren’t always my thing. But when it’s literally forced upon you, and you have no choice but to abide by the suggestions of medical professionals and city officials, it can take a toll on you.
I liked it when I had the choice of if I wanted to go to the gym today, and getting up in the morning and deciding do I really want to go to work or not. And trust me, I’m the last person that likes going to the gym or work. But, those choices are made for me now. A solid ‘No, you can’t go.’ Though these are minuscule problems in the midst of it all, I know a lot of people feel the same way I feel, especially college students—Defeated.
In the span of less than a month, I’ve lost control and structure of my life. My week would pretty much consist of school, work, and on a good day, maybe a fun night with friends. Now that those scheduled times are stripped from us, I often wake up and wonder, ‘What now?”. It’s like I don’t know what to do or how to do it.
I have learned a little bit about myself through all this. I definitely eat when I’m bored. I hate the news (right now, at least). I’m sick of looking at my phone for some form of entertainment. My favorite pastime of napping has now become tiresome.
School right now seems like an option, but It’s not. The fact that it’s online makes it harder for those who aren’t used to that structure. You have to be organized and stay on top of all that you have due. And since I want to graduate this year, I have to make sure I’m getting everything I need to be done. Even when right now, I don’t want to do anything at all. A decision I didn’t think I would have to make this year was whether or not I should get a refund for my cap and gown, or have it shipped to my house just in case we do have a ceremony one of these days. However, it’s a decision that a lot of us have to make, along with other big decisions.
I genuinely believe that this too, shall pass. I’ve accepted that life won’t be normal after this. I just hope that all of us are safe and adjusting to what life is now. It sucks that everything is up in the air. Nothing is guaranteed, and it feels like I don’t have the correct answer to anything.
College students already go through so much. Post-grad depression happens all too often, and I’m worried that at a time like this, it’s just going to skyrocket. So I ask that all of us take it day by day in the best way you know how.