Written by Sarah Pearce<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s safe to say this was not in any of our plans. I\u2019m a planner, but I haven\u2019t always been. At some point, maybe during sophomore year, I started thinking five steps ahead and haven\u2019t stopped since. Of course, it\u2019s been harder the past few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think most of us, planners or not, had some idea of what our post-college life would look like. Maybe it wasn\u2019t set in stone, maybe it wasn\u2019t that specific, but we had an outline or a blueprint. Then, the world turned upside down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m not here to tell you that everything is going to be fine. Things are decidedly not fine at the moment. What I am here to tell you is that you are not alone in what you are feeling. I\u2019m here to tell you that it\u2019s okay to let yourself feel grief (yes, grief) over the loss of the last quarter of your senior year and the world you were preparing to enter. I\u2019m here to tell you that having empathy for yourself does not take away from the empathy you feel for other people. You\u2019re right, it\u2019s not the end of the world. It\u2019s not the worst that could happen. There are people who have it worse than we do. It still hurts, though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m no more qualified to give advice in this situation than you are, but I\u2019m just as much an expert in being a senior during the time of COVID-19 as anyone else. Here are a few things that have helped me: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Taking walks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I live in the middle of nowhere, so I\u2019m lucky that social distancing is no problem in my neighborhood. For those of you who live in urban areas, this might look like opening a window and streaming a trusty exercise video. The idea is to feel the fresh air on your face and in your lungs. More importantly, it\u2019s about remembering that the world is wide, and there is more to look forward to than our own claustrophobic moment. Also, I have to say it, exercise really does help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Controlling the media I consume. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has been a major learning curve for me. At the beginning of the social distancing period, I scrolled endlessly through month-by-month projections, infection counts and the same headlines from different sources. Then, I swung to the opposite end of the spectrum, watching only the happy Disney movies and a few sitcoms that felt safely mindless. That wasn\u2019t working either. What I\u2019ve settled on since then is a good middle ground. I look at headlines once a day from a trusted news source, and I balance entertainment between stuff that challenges my mind (i.e. my classic novel\/movie bucket list) and less challenging stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Eating well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By this I mean eating healthy, but I also mean finding ways to really enjoy this thing that can slip by in our daily routine. Cooking has given me a low-pressure creative outlet, one I can share with my family without losing my cool. Plus, if I\u2019m making my own food, I\u2019m more likely to be mindful of how it\u2019s helping or hurting my brain and body. All in all, good food, as usual, is something I\u2019m grateful for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Finding a routine that works for me, then adjusting it when it doesn\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Routines provide structure and security, something we need now more than ever. But, for me at least, it wasn\u2019t sustainable to stick to a stiff routine every day. I think it\u2019s important to give ourselves the structure, but equally important to give ourselves permission to break it every now and then. Don\u2019t get stuck in a guilt cycle, just get back to work the next day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Making life better for the people I can. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes I get such lofty, philanthropic ambitions in my head that I forget the simple stuff like being a good neighbor. COVID-19 has forced me to settle in and encourage the people right next door, in my contact list or my own living room. So, make that phone call. Send that letter. Clean those dishes. It matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fellow seniors, and anyone else reading this, hang in there. Figure out what works for you, because there is another side to this thing, even if it isn\u2019t in sight yet. I want to sign off with one more suggestion for how you can use your time at home: Look for the things that don\u2019t change. What are the values you still hold, the people you still count on, the things you still believe about yourself and the world around you? Hold onto those things and consider letting go of the other stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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