Answering questions about life as a college student
Hey friends! I know this holiday gift guide post is coming on a different day than usual, but I figured that the earlier that I got it out, the better. I only just finished up my Christmas shopping and I realize a lot of people are mostly shopping online to avoid potentially getting sick.
Hey friends! I thought I’d take you through a week in my life - not down to the minute - but the moments that I captured on camera and what they mean to me. Also, just giving you questions to reflect on as time passes by. I hope that as much as you live in the moment, you also live with discerning eyes, eyes that hold this moment eagerly and reflect in order to do the next moment better.
2020 has been rough. *ahem* That’s an understatement. 2020 has been one hell of a year. With COVID going all across the country, lockdowns, doing work/school from home, not to mention the general uncertainty, it’s a strange time to enter the holiday season. School is currently wrapping up for me. I have 2 more weeks of classes and then a week of exams before I get to fully rest up and recover from the 14 weeks of Fall 2020.
In my first year of college, I used to be really bad at this. Cultivating boundaries. Relaxing when I needed to. Doing work when I was supposed to. Having time to eat and take walks and chat with friends and study. We are all really bad at this. Cultivating boundaries. When was the last time you didn’t feel guilty for sitting on the couch? For watching TV without the looming fear of your work week? When was the last time you didn’t dread Sunday? You didn’t frantically check your email to get ahead? You didn’t wish your weekend was longer?
Lately, I’ve been chewing on the idea that I want to live a good life. Not a great one. Not one with tons of fireworks and dramatic flair. Just a good one. With good people. Good food. A good time all around.
The uncertainty of this time feels scary and out of control.
*cue thunderstorms in the background*
I’m not trying to be dramatic, but especially since the world’s gone upside down, it’s so hard to make any decisions. I keep checking my email, waiting for something to change. Waiting for news that’s supposed to come.
In quarantine, we have an opportunity to live differently than before. We have the option to do less or to live at a less hurried pace. Even for those with children and work right now, every day doesn’t have to be a sprint. We can choose the pace at which we live in order to add more peace into our lives.
In quarantine, we have the opportunity to examine the state of our lives before all the upheaval and how we want to move and act when things return to normal.
In the dull moments, where life gets repetitive and things are just not exciting, like quarantine right now, it’s easy to wish time away and hope it would all end.
Right before my big trip back to Virginia for spring semester began, I was overcome with emotion. I had traveled to school on my own before. I had been apart from my parents for many months.