Hi there, COVID threw a wrench in basically everyone’s entire 2020. With that, I want to take a positive focus on how we can use these difficult, strange times to teach us more valuable lessons.
Imagine being on spring break with your friends having a great time, and then you get an email. It says that you won’t be returning to school and have to pack up to move back home. This is probably the reality for a lot of the people reading this, and for that I’m sorry. So, what did I do when this happened? Sit around and do nothing? No. I wanted to make the best out of a poor situation and continued to work to achieve my goals. This is the moment I realized I was a go-getter. In March, I set out to find a virtual internship, knowing that most internship programs I was applying for would be canceled. I ended up having the opportunity to intern for a podcast and assist in creating social media content. I then managed to do the best I’d ever done in a semester at college even though the cards were stacked against college students with all the new changes we were presented. I found a job in the midst of the pandemic as a temperature screener at a doctor’s office, which allowed me to help ensure the safety of other people during such an uncertain time. The lessons I learned about being considerate of others from working during a pandemic in an area constantly occupied by sick people were immense.
I returned to school determined that I was going to make the fall semester the best I could. I now had a new part-time job in Raleigh working in retail and an internship helping with social media for a boutique in Chicago. I was practically on cloud nine. As the semester started, I instantly knew that if I didn’t stay on track, I could be spreading myself a little too thin. This is something I am still working through as the semester is still just beginning, but I am determined to achieve my career goals that will lead me where I need to be.
The biggest thing COVID taught me was not to waste the time that I had and to use it to my advantage. I was able to gain more experience in five months than I had in my entire life just due to hard work and dedication. I feel like living through such a crazy time really helped me realize that it’s all about doing what makes you happy, and sometimes the little things can have the biggest impact. If you want to stay in sweatpants all day, then do that (because trust me, most days I do too). you want to get dressed up and SAFELY go out to dinner, more power to you. Remember that you control what lessons you’ll take away from this unprecedented experience. For me, it’s that no matter the situation or obstacle you can always find a reason to push through and go after your goals.
I’m so excited to be joining the Her Campus team here at NC State and I can’t wait to continue sharing more about myself and all sorts of other topics on this platform!