Offline amidst a pandemic: The student experience

Hey asters,

I’m finally back.

I’m back home for study holidays before finals and thereby finally have some time where I’m not constantly bombarded with coursework. I wanted to share my experience as a student who went back to college amidst the pandemic after about 8 months of online classes.

For your convenience, I’ve broken the whole “ Offline amidst the pandemic” experience into smaller sections, so, here you go!

1/ Safety:

The covid outbreak is still in its full swing, so the first priority was to ensure safe practices to ensure protection against the virus. I had to take a covid test before reporting to the dorms. Masks were to be worn in all crowded places. The mess hall had socially distanced tables. All our bags were sanitized before letting us in, and our health condition was checked before they let us in. The lecture halls also had socially distanced seating arrangements.

To anyone who has to wear masks for a long time, skin breakouts and dry throats are common. Have a skincare routine and have drinks that are soothing for your throat at least once a day.

2/ Fear and uncertainty:

There was a lot of fear about contracting covid and transmitting it to others. We were not allowed to visit our homes, and if there was a dire need, we had to come back with a covid negative report. Staying in the dorm for a long period was really tough. Personally, I felt very disconnected from the outer world and had mental breakdowns from time to time. It was really difficult to focus purely on the coursework.

But the fact that we were all risking exposure to covid and were sacrificing a normal routine, made us want to not waste the time we had available at college.

3/ Focus and concentration:

Getting back in touch with my studies was really tough for me as my attention span had reduced. I found it really tough to concentrate for long hours. So for students attending online classes and are still in quarantine, I’d suggest that you start study sessions if you haven’t touched your coursework in a long time.

And about time management, you have to find some method of planning so that you are less stressed unless you want to have burnout once a week. And don’t let your perfectionism weigh you down. I thought that I was not a perfectionist, but it seems that in works that I want to put out to the world, I am. ( But Kim Namjoon mentioned that done is better than perfect, so here’s the post :] )

4/ Life kinda hit the play button.

This is the most important thing that I learnt after going back to college.

It was like my life had resumed at the point it had paused at the start of the lockdown. The lockdown had me realize that I had issues that if not dealt with will always catch up with me sooner or later. Dealing with healing myself was and is tough, and sometimes I kinda wish I had someone in my life to do it for me, but to be comfortable with myself I gotta deal with the tough stuff all by myself.

When you get out there, you are gonna realize that some people are gonna act like the pandemic never happened and move on with their lives, but that’s not the right way. You have to move on, but I hope you remember what the pandemic made you realize. It may seem like a dumb idea, but you have to sink in the darkness or whatever shade of color the pandemic threw at you and embrace it as a part of yourself and then move on with your life.

The pandemic to me was a pause for me to take a breath, the play button ready for whenever I wanted to press it.

5/ The pandemic is still not over.

Wear a mask especially when you are with another person. Do not visit crowded areas. A lot of healthcare workers are still battling the virus. Even if you don’t care about yourself, think about your family, friends, other people, and the front-line workers who are bearing the burden of all that’s happened. Bear some social responsibility.

Author’s note:

1. How are you guys doing, what have you been up to, do let me know?
2. It’s all gonna be alright.
3. EDIT: The situation is a bit bad right now in India, How is the situation in your country? Please be safe and wear masks in public places. Have a nutritious diet and stay hydrated. Take care of yourselves, asters.

Love,

The butterfly girl.

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