If you had told me this time last year that the world would be at a standstill and I would be an online student, I would have laughed in your face! However, this is the world we now live in. Ever since coronavirus became a serious threat, and we had to quarantine, there has been this heavy cloud following me around. Personally, quarantine was very good for me. I was able to focus on my mental health and truly work on myself! However, the stress of not being able to carry out my ‘normal’ activities was still weighing heavy on my soul.
Returning to school restored helped normalcy, but with came with major changes. While being at school was wonderful, the threat of coronavirus only enhanced my anxiety since the risk got greater the more people I saw around campus. Having a modified routine did not help either as my classes would switch every other week to online for safety purposes, and the anxiety still lingered. Once we were put online for the rest of the semester, yes I was devastated, but also relieved. Since we would be online my roommate asked if I wanted to quarantine in her apartment in Vermont before officially going home. I decided to go!
Driving up to Vermont got rid of so much of my anxiety, that I didn’t even know I held. Jay Peak is the most magical, calming, and relaxing place I have ever been. We were able to hike every day this past week, and walk along the mountain. Even though we still had school, that didn’t bother us, as even classes seemed better here. We were able to just fully relax for the first time in a very long time, which was most needed. There was also not many people around, so the risk of exposing ourselves was very small. Sometimes the best medicine for stress and anxiety is to just do the opposite of what you would normally do and feel relaxed. That is exactly what this trip did for me!
