One Year Later: What We Can Learn from the Pandemic
By Irene Koch
One year ago, today was likely one of the most chaotic days of our lives. It was the Saturday after we received the notification that we had 48 hours to move off campus due to the pandemic, and for most of us, that Saturday was spent frantically boxing things up in between rushed goodbyes. As we traveled home last March and watched campus recede in the distance, it was anyone’s guess what the next week, month, or even year would look like. Here are a few reflections I’ve had as I’ve looked back on the past year.
Allow yourself to grieve what you have lost. You’re only human, and you’re allowed to mourn what could have been. Yes, perspective is crucial, and the sorrow over losing study abroad experiences or midnight Campco runs is vastly different from the sorrow over losing a loved one to COVID. However, a loss is still a loss, so don’t feel bad about your grief as long as it’s appropriate to the subject.
You decide how and with whom to spend your time. Without much to do during the early days of quarantine, many of us, myself included, slipped back into hobbies we thought we left behind or considered ourselves “too cool” for: rereading decade-old Percy Jackson books, picking up needlework, binging Avatar, or exploring new styles of music or clothing we may not have previously considered. The revelation that usually accompanied these lifestyle changes was: why did I ever think this was a bad idea? I’m hoping even after we’re all vaccinated and life returns to “normal,” we’ll worry less about what’s trendy and more about what makes us happy.
Peace and quiet are important. I’ve always been more of an introvert, and while living on a vibrant campus with mostly extroverted friends is fun, a part of me has been thankful for the disappearance of social obligations and the emergence of relatively quiet days. With time to recharge my social battery and spend time with myself through reading, writing, meditating, or even reorganizing my room, I’ve found myself more grounded and have made efforts to carve out some alone time even as I’ve moved back on campus.
Taking time for yourself isn’t lazy, it’s essential. On a busy college campus where we love to throw in a subtle brag about how much time we spend in the library or how stacked our resumes are, it’s easy to feel unproductive or less than if we decide to spend an afternoon watching Netflix instead of working ahead. As these workspaces have moved to Zoom and the need for self-care has increased for many people, I’m hoping we’ll stop seeing gaps on a resume or leisure time as signs of a lack of enthusiasm but as necessary components for maintaining our mental health.
Live a little. Yes, it’s cheesy, but if I had known we were getting sent home the next month, I might have chosen to go to that concert the day before an exam or take a longer lunch break with that friend I hadn’t seen in a while instead of rushing off to my other responsibilities. As this past year has proven, this life we have can be turned upside-down in an instant. Be intentional with your time and make some memories with the people and the things that make you feel good about yourself.
