Surviving as a Student

Pandemic pandemonium was not quite what I had bargained for when I started out on my University experience. Meeting new people, experiencing city life for the first time, and starting my degree were certainly higher on my agenda than a national lockdown.  Expecting to be living my best life right about now, the restrictions we have faced and are still facing have rather limited mine and many other’s ability to do so.

Alongside the majority of the UK at this moment in time, students are certainly struggling. Loneliness, low morale and lack of motivation are certainly rife amongst many of us. Not to say others do not have it worse, as we all know they certainly do, it really has been a rough year. Relying on a return to a reality in 2021, as I had been doing for the majority of 2020, now seems out of the equation too. Starting my third term of online learning rather than sticking to the floor of my favourite nightclub is not what I had in mind when coming into the new year.  Previously, struggling to stay positive, many of us resorted to home workouts ,zoom calls, online shopping and one of my personal guilty pleasures, spending relentless hours scrolling through Tik Tok. With case numbers rising by the day, NHS admissions soaring and thousands losing their life each week, a lockdown is an inevitable, necessary enforcement.  As the novelty of staying at home faded away for many of us after a few weeks, it is now harder than ever to focus on staying happy and healthy. Not alone in this,  during lockdown, tasks such as getting out of bed before midday began to feel like impossible feats and staying positive beyond the realms of possibility. Being a champion of procrastination and avoidance myself, I have realised that comparing my productivity and purpose to others, both during lockdown and in day-to-day life, damaging. Don’t be hard on yourself if you spent the day watching Netflix whilst someone on your Instagram did two workouts, baked some banana bread and attended 5 zoom calls. Trust me, they are probably as unhappy as you are. Everyone has different ways of coping and it is normal to not feel positive 24/7.

With deadlines and exam dates looming, many of us are still adjusting to online learning and alternative assessment styles. With both students and lecturers taking a stab in the dark as to when formal lectures and teaching will return to normal, achieving a pass becomes more commendable than ever. Online time constrained assessments are becoming a commodity, with this form of assessment being ‘open-book’ style, revision begins to feel pointless and motivation hits an all time low. I find promising myself a minimum of 4 hours of revision a week an achievable target, for some this may be 40 minutes for others 40 hours. Short bursts of varied revision work much better for me, fuelling my passion for my subject much more than relentless hours of staring at mundane notes. Whilst at the moment it does feel as though we truly are just paying for PowerPoints, I have faith that our resilience and dedication will one day pay off.

Beginning my second year of university a month later than scheduled, in the time spent in accommodation 29 days were collectively spent self-isolating. Lucky enough to have reliable flatmates that made this time much more bearable, staring at the same four walls with no fresh air is certainly not much fun. Receiving a positive COVID-19 result just days after finishing one period of isolation came as a shock, luckily my symptoms were mild and passed quickly. Realising that avoiding coming into contact with the virus at university was almost impossible I was grateful to be able to come home for Christmas after having spent the longest period of time away from family than ever before. Whilst the university were generous in sending food parcels and offers of support, the stigma of being a student during a pandemic and the lack of mention of students unless pointing the blame was no easy challenge. With extortionate accommodation costs and pounds of debt already piling up, deferring for a year although appealing seemed delusional. With a hope to return to university this year, I count each day as a day closer to returning to student life.

So, as we carry on this journey towards normality, remember to check in on friends and family; no one needs to suffer in silence. Take the time to look after yourself and reflect on what really is important to you. Take a walk to clear your head or stay in bed all day, whatever makes you feel even a tiny bit better. Things will start to look up at some point, getting this far is an achievement and every single one of us should be proud of ourselves.