Life Lessons the COVID Pandemic Taught Me

It’s hard to think that it’s been almost a year now since the COVID pandemic happened. I was on an Alternative Spring Break Trip (for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a fun opportunity that my college had where students got to take a trip during their spring break to volunteer) when I found out that college classes were going to take place virtually instead of in person. When the COVID pandemic happened, I was devastated. It was my senior year of college. At the time, I felt like I didn’t get to say goodbye to all my friends from college. There were so many things I was looking forward to that weren’t going to happen. While it’s very unfortunate that COVID happened, and my heart goes out to everyone affected by it, COVID taught me valuable life lessons.

Don’t Take Life for Granted

COVID taught me to not take life for granted. When I was at college, I complained A LOT. This might come as a surprise to some people because I was known for being positive. I even started an Instagram account called Positivity Piedmont, where I posted the positive things students were doing at college. However, the truth was, I complained a lot to my mom. I constantly texted her saying how hard the college workload was and that it was unfair professors assigned so much homework. There were times I wondered if it would be easier to go to a different college, and I thought about dropping out of college all together. I didn’t realize how great college was until classes were moved online and students no longer lived on campus.

College was such a special place, and I still miss it today. As I’m writing this, I’m wondering how many other things in life I’m taking for granted. You don’t always realize the importance of what you have until it’s gone. I want to start being more grateful, and I encourage you to be grateful as well. Being grateful doesn’t mean ignoring the bad things that happen in life. While it’s important to acknowledge and work through your feelings, it’s also important to appreciate the things and people you have in your life.

Find Joy in the Midst of the Struggle

One mental health nonprofit that I really look up to is To Write Love on Her Arms. On To Write Love on Her Arm’s social media pages there was a post by the founder, Jamie Tworkowski, that said, “Conversations will not be canceled. Relationships will not be canceled. Love will not be canceled.” This post inspired me to come up with the hashtag: #CoronavirusCantCancel. I wanted to remember that good things can still happen in midst of the pandemic. I wanted to find joy in everyday life, even when life was hard. Some of my posts with the hashtag CoronavirusCantCancel included virtual events my college had, FaceTiming my friend, livestreams celebrities did, TikToks, etc. This really helped my mental health. I realized life may be hard, but there will always be good things that happen.

The Power of Having a “We’re in This Together” Attitude

As someone who’s struggled a lot with anxiety and has gone through periods of depression, I know how important it is when people help you. One of the biggest blessings in my life are the people in it. Many people have made a positive impact in my life including my friends, family, therapist, former classmates, former professors and faculty.

COVID was such an interesting time. Normally people struggle at different times in their lives, but a lot of people were struggling at once during the pandemic. I love that so many people including professors, faculty members, classmates, pastors, friends, family members, celebrities, and nonprofit workers remained kind and found ways to go above and beyond for one another.

I wrote an article for my college’s newspaper: Senior Year and The Coronavirus Pandemic: My College Stands Strong. I wrote about how faculty and professors went above and beyond for their students and how much it meant to me. Campus Activities Board, Piedmont Campus Rec and Residential Living had virtual events for their students because they knew how much it meant for students to still feel connected. My mass communications professors were really encouraging, and they celebrated students’ successes.

Piedmont Campus Rec's Indoor Adventures and the Adventure Challenge

The pastor and his wife at the church near my college also helped me and other students by having college group online. We studied the book of Psalms during that time, which was really uplifting. I am grateful that I got to attend the virtual Bible studies and we leaned into Jesus during that time.

I truly believe that people being kind inspire others to be kind. I know that’s true in my life. I am very grateful that my friends reached out to me when I was struggling and reassured me that everything was going to be ok. I want to make a positive difference in people’s lives like my friends make in my mine. During the beginning of the pandemic, I made a video telling seniors that I know how challenging the pandemic is and that the difference they made mattered. I thought it was really important for me to make that video because as a senior, I understood the disappointment they were feeling.

It amazes me how so many people went above and beyond for each other during this difficult time. It would have been very easy and understandable if everyone just kept to themselves during the pandemic. However, in order for us to get through really challenging times we have to be there for one another. I am very grateful that people know how powerful it is to have a “We’re in This Together” attitude.

The lessons COVID taught me have shaped my view on life and how I approach life for the better.