Every day I used to wake up and get ready to walk to class. The sun would warm me, the exercise would wake me up, and the interaction with other students would sustain me when the quarter became grueling. One thing I always tell others that has been the hardest for me about the pandemic is that I hate completing the day all by myself, on my computer. I do like time alone but I need social interaction that relates to my school work in order to feel satisfied with my tasks and my days.
Talking about my classes and coursework in the past with my classmates made my classes and experiences in those classes more real. I remember sitting in old buildings with other English majors, walking home from class thinking about the thought-provoking questions that my professors had posed. My mind swirled and my body moved with it. I can’t say the same for my quarantine life.
Most days, I find my body cramped and sore from hours of sitting on my laptop in the same position, fatigued from doing homework assignment after homework assignment, responding to emails, and just doing my daily tasks on my computer. Sadly, online school has made me fall out of love with school. As I’ve gotten older and progressed through school, and found myself on Zoom, I find myself dreading my day instead of looking forward to it (when I have to be online).
After I graduate, I am looking forward to doing phone calls with people that will make my days more engaging. I will also be able to structure my day however I want, for the most part, and I want to spend lots of time outside and moving around. I have found exercising and laying in the sun to be very beneficial for my mental health. If I take time for myself, if I take time off, I will be more productive in the future.
I think this is important to note: productivity does not always equate to hours spent on your laptop. Your body needs rest in order to work. Humans are not meant to sit at their computers all day, every day. We are meant to live in the world, to truly be in it, not sit at our computers and observe the world moving around us.