BWW Blog: New Semester, Same Challenges

Life as a college student is not easy. And although many will discredit the stress, anxiety, hard work and obstacles that earning a higher education comes with, the current global pandemic multiplies those aspects significantly. A year ago, no one could predict the massive changes life would undergo due to COVID-19, but students arguably had the hardest transition and are still struggling with the way of learning, even today.

Now, as college students either return to campus or prepare at home to start a new semester, not much has changed from almost a year ago or even last semester. Remote learning is still how many campuses are conducting classes and social distancing rules along with the appropriate wearing of face coverings hinder the in-person experience. Many, myself included, have been hopeful from the beginning that some sense of normalcy will be reinstated sooner rather than later, but with an ever changing virus that is endangering millions of people everyday, it's almost impossible to predict even tomorrow.

Because of the drastic impacts COVID-19 has presented, college students in particular experienced a negative affect on their mental health for a wide variety of reasons. Whether it be the stress of sudden change, having to continue with many aspects that didn't adapt well in wake of the pandemic, or even something as simple as dealing with the daily tasks that each day presents have made life seemingly more difficult than ever before. And with the arrival of another new semester, which in turn means a fresh start, the hopeful expectation that life would be a little more normal quickly dissipated when the news that the spring would look glaringly similar to the fall.

The same internal struggles and challenging obstacles for students obtaining a higher education continue to exist as the pandemic worsens around the country. Vaccination rollouts are slowly accomplishing their initial goal, but still, things are miles away from returning to the normal we used to know so well.

While millions of college students spend hours behind their computer screens, missing out on some of the biggest and most important years of their life and trying their hardest to stay afloat by balancing their countless responsibilities, the undeniable stress and anxiety levels continue to rise. Now more than ever, it's time to not only check in on your friends either in college or not, but also offer any kind of support you can. Even though we are all in this together, the impacts of COVID-19 are different for everyone and for those struggling, a simple message or video call can make the world of difference.

For my fellow college students, please hang in there! I know this semester is another weird one and nothing we expected when applying to attend college in the first place, but things will eventually go back to some resemblance of normalcy. Until then though, continue taking care of yourself in the best ways you can and believe in yourself. Yes, maybe nothing significantly has changed, but we can all make it through this time. You've got this and I know everything will turn around for the better soon.

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