When I arrived at St. Lawrence’s campus four years ago, like many of my classmates, I never would have thought that I would make the hard decision to spend my Senior Fall semester at home. Of course, it goes without saying that, nobody could have predicted a world-wide pandemic, nonetheless the fact that the United States would suffer to the extent that it has by it. As much as I wish I could be making more memories in NoCo, I have been able to find the silver linings of staying home and have found methods to combat the FOMO.
- Recognizing My Privilege
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The year 2020 has shown me the many ways in which I am privileged, and I can say that I recognize that in my ability to make the decision to take my classes remotely in the comfort of my home. Without the privilege of being in the same time zone as my university (Eastern) and being with my beloved family members (and my furry friends), I definitely wouldn’t have considered staying home nearly as much.
- Utilizing My Planner
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Time and time again, HC at St Law U has written about the benefits of utilizing an agenda/planner. Whether it be digital (google calendar or iCal) or paper (I’ve always loved seeing people’s planner covers and layouts), I am here to share with you the ways in which my planner has provided me solace at a time like this. I am able to create repeating events for my academic classes, the HC St. Law U team meetings, work hours for both of my jobs, keeping up with events with my Sorority, and even time for self-care!
- Creating Self-Care Methods
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We, at HC St Law U, preach the importance of implementing a self-care routine. I believe that it is more important than ever (now) to practice what we preach. Using my planner to schedule times to do those newly beloved at-home workouts (I LOVE following Sydney Cumming’s YouTube videos!) and Zoom/FaceTime sessions with good friends or even just to sit down and watch some Netflix/Hulu can really make me feel better and happier. Now that I am home and I don’t have much of a ~social life~, I am making the most of my free time by doing everything I can to practice self-care, even if that means finding a 5 minute guided meditation online before bed or drinking enough water throughout the day.
- Developing a Routine
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Even though I have been home since March, I can’t say that I have developed a daily routine that I’ve been able to stick to. But, now that I have courses to keep track of and a couple of jobs I need to clock into, I have been using my calendar to time-block and make a mostly-consistent daily routine for myself. Yes, I am even time blocking when I eat, do homework, workout, FaceTime friends, and when assignments are due! Developing a routine has eased the stress of a semester of unknown. Being able to routinely FaceTime friends who are on campus and who are at different colleges (friends from high school) makes a significant difference in combating FOMO.
This year has truly forced me to improve my self-discipline and find new ways to deal with the change that came with COVID. Choosing to spend the Fall of my Senior year was undoubtedly challenging, but these four strategies have certainly shown me a silver lining in all the chaos of 2020.
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