“Back to School” During COVID-19
Going “back to school” looks a bit different this year.
Not only are online classes fundamentally changing the way our children learn and retain information, but accessibility to the knowledge, finances, time, and energy it takes to adapt to (and thrive in) the digital classroom a ll have the potential to make a COVID school year more difficult than anything else. On the other hand, as a student you may be experiencing a surge of anxiety as you attempt to complete assignments on time, ask for the attention and help you need from teachers, and function “normally” with the added stresses of life during a pandemic. You may be holding on to additional worries about your family and friends’ health, or missing out on classic experiences such as homecoming or seeing your friends at school and socializing casually.
This is an extremely difficult time, and you are not wrong for missing the comforting, routine, or seasonal activities which typically bring us joy during this time of year.
As a parent, you are not wrong for internalizing great stress over your child’s wellbeing, and your own, as you attempt to adapt and find normalcy in extremity.
Many of us enjoy autumn because of its sense of profound productivity, change, and fun -- and you are certainly not wrong for that. Establishing routine may feel like a mountain you cannot bear to climb in addition to everything else in your life, but you have power beyond that obstructive voice. It is a difficult but worthwhile journey to both honor your fears, seeming incapabilities, and hesitations, while also moving beyond it. Many of us are fixated on “going back to normal” in order to feel alleviation from our current stresses, but adapting and changing instead of wishing for the past -- for some, with the help of a mental health professional or support network -- will take you much further than the latter.
It is okay to admit that you are not okay, no matter your age, gender, race, or role in the lives of those around you. You can and will find a new normal which enables you to enjoy this time of year, feel excited about life, and continue being there for your loved ones. Back to school may feel different, but this is a new season of your life, and you are capable of anything you want right now.