In her first Student Diaries entry, Sian tells us about how the pandemic has transformed her education and uprooted her social life.
Being a student in a pandemic has thrown another hurdle in the way of getting the degree I want, and I won’t lie, it’s extremely stressful.
I spent the last academic year working in industry and, when I came back this year to finish my degree, I not only had to deal with the struggles of coming back to education but also tackling a university course that had moved online. It was a big change; I didn’t go to a single in-person teaching session all term because it didn’t feel safe. I haven’t been able to meet any new people on my course, nor any of my lecturers or my dissertation supervisor.
Through last term I felt very lucky to have lived in a house of people that I get on with, otherwise, I feel my mental health would have suffered greatly as well.
As we went into the third lockdown, I had just started an assessment period where I had to hand in three assignments. I signed up for courses that were either mostly exam-based or half-and-half with coursework. But my university decided early on last term that there wouldn’t be any exams, everything was going to be coursework. As someone who struggles with coursework, this was really distressing for me, as I now had some essays that were worth 90% of my grade for that module.
I usually rely on exams to boost my grades, but without them, I am worried about my degree! There is a no-detriment policy being developed, but it isn’t putting my mind at ease because I don’t know what they’re going to do and if it’ll save my overall grade.
For the time being, I am working from my parents’ home because I came back for Christmas and was asked not to come back to my university town. While I am happy to play my part in stopping the virus, this is also stressful because it isn’t my usual work environment. I don’t have many things here with me and it’s sad knowing that I can’t be back in the house I am paying for, especially as it’s my last term there. I know when I go back, I will have to try my best to make up for lost time!
I’ve finished my assessments now and I have a week off until term starts. I’m spending it catching up with dissertation work to give my future self a bit of a break. I know that the pressure will build up pretty quickly after this week as I’ve only got four months left until I finish my degree.
It’s hard to give myself time off from university work when I’m stuck at home all day, every day, only leaving for essential trips, but I am trying to treat myself better. I am filling my downtime with reading, writing, painting and watching Netflix – anything and everything that I won’t have time for in the next few months.
One thing I have fallen back in love with this lockdown is moving my body. I try to go for a walk most days before it gets dark, do a bit more work afterwards and then when I am finished for the day, I go and do a 15-minute yoga routine – the app I use is DownDog. This really helps clear my mind at the end of a stressful day, as well as making my body stronger.
Not knowing when lockdown is going to end or when I’ll be able to move back to university is a stressful concept, but we’ve all got to do the best we can in these times. We all need to be kind to ourselves.
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