Like so many of us, I have been struggling lately. Like everyone else, this new way of life has been difficult to adjust to. However, that’s just the beginning as to why I’ve been struggling.
Whenever I catch myself having a hard time and feeling particularly down, I think about those who have it way worse than me. I think about the people who have lost their lives, the people who have lost loved ones and those who are putting themselves at risk every day for complete strangers.
I ask myself how I could possibly sit here and feel sorry for myself when I am lucky enough to be home with those whom I love, and then I feel even worse. But after weeks of this cycle, I’ve finally realized something. Just because others might be worse off doesn’t mean that I should discount how I am feeling. In fact, I’m sure it’s how millions of other college students are feeling.
Plans that were once punctuated with periods have now been replaced with question marks. We went our separate ways for spring break, expecting to come back to our normal lives, only to shortly find out that wouldn’t be possible.
For seniors like myself, especially those who are still in the process of job hunting, this experience has been even more difficult. Graduation marks the end of this chapter of our lives and the beginning of a new one. For the majority of us, that next chapter involves a career. Now, we don’t know when we’ll have a graduation, and I can’t even tell you the number of emails I’ve received from prospective jobs telling me that the recruitment process has been put on hold due to the current circumstances.
The worst part of all of this is we have no timeline for when things will be back to normal. And to be completely honest, they probably never will be. Instead it’s just one big waiting game, and for someone who likes to have a set plan, this is really taking its toll.
So no, our problems might not be as serious as others, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still problems. Our feelings don’t make us selfish. They make us human.
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