{"id":34413,"date":"2020-11-18T12:59:28","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T12:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?p=34413"},"modified":"2024-08-09T07:41:25","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T11:41:25","slug":"from-the-students-hows-it-going","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/2020\/from-the-students-hows-it-going\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaclyn’s Blog – From the Students: How\u2019s It Going?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Jaclyn’s Blog – From the Students: How\u2019s It Going?\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

My dearest fellow students,

I hope this blog post finds you well. Is this blog post finding you well? Or is it finding you under the covers at 2 p.m.? Having your first meal at 5 p.m.? Having your third coffee at 8 p.m.? Wrapping up that discussion-board post at 11:55 p.m. that\u2019s due at 12 a.m.?

Don\u2019t worry, I don\u2019t expect much from any of us right now. I hope this blog finds you pandemically well, whatever that means for you.

Is this blog post finding me <\/em>well? Let\u2019s see. It finds me very busy, yet somehow with a rather high daily screen-time average. (Do you track your screen time on your phone? I recommend it, if facing your own shame is productive for you.) It finds me a bit overwhelmed, but with enough time to spontaneously take evenings off to make scones and watch streams of Among Us<\/em> with my sister. It finds me tired, but with enough energy to take my puppy on her daily walks. It finds me anxious \u2013 and these days, telling you what I\u2019m not anxious about would make a shorter list than everything I am anxious about \u2013 but with enough chutzpah <\/em>to write down some words…

But not many. This blogging space is not about me. I\u2019m just one student trying to speak for us all. Right now, when our lives as students are so deeply intertwined with our home lives, I doubt there\u2019s much of a \u201cuniversal student experience\u201d for me to tap into.

So I have decided to step aside a bit for this blog post and let you speak for yourselves. I asked some of you \u2013 friends, peers, Zoom rectangles \u2013 how it\u2019s going this semester. What follows are the words that you, fellow students, have shared with me, as well as a few of my own words hidden among them.

I hope that even if you\u2019re not doing well, you will find solace in seeing yourself here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


What Do You Miss About In-person Classes?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing able to see my profs in class and talk to them without having to schedule a meeting, and having a perfectly good, guilt-free excuse to grab Starbucks on my way to class instead of having to drink the same old Keurig coffee every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI miss office hours. I never thought I\u2019d say that, but I do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI miss meeting people in class. By the end of term, there\u2019s always somebody I\u2019m happy I got to know unintentionally \u2013 even if it\u2019s just someone I can knowingly lock eyes with. It\u2019s nice to have that confirmation of a shared experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI miss my dear classmates. I miss being stressed about not understanding a reading, only to chat with my classmates in the hallway while we sip our coffee and discover that in fact, none of us understood the reading. There is an overwhelming pressure in university where you feel like you always have to be so smart, <\/em>so academic, <\/em>but when you have in-person classes and you bond with your classmates, that pressure melts away. I can say something as small as \u2018This one scene in the book was so weird it made me cringe\u2019 to a classmate and we\u2019ll chat about the book as regular people. Once I step foot in that classroom, though, I have to be an actual student so I might say something like \u2018this one scene had an air of mystery to it and I think the author described it in this way to make their readers feel uncomfortable\u2019 and then go on for a minute or so to back up my point. With the online learning environment, I feel like I am always <\/em>a student and never <\/em>just a regular person. Every one of my conversations has to sound smart and formal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI miss literally everything about in-person classes. I miss being on campus and having to walk from class to class because I feel like I live on my couch now. I miss meeting new people and having discussions. I miss feeling like I have a connection with professors because I see them twice a week. I thought I would like being able to choose when to do my classes, but it\u2019s so much worse. Having a structured schedule is much better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe interaction within the classroom, hearing each other’s off-the-cuff remarks, having people laugh and get engaged in conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing I find is that in-person classes have more interesting and candid discussions, whereas online discussions are more structured, formal, and uninteresting. I think there’s a fear of disagreement in online classes…for some reason.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFood. There\u2019s this communal thing about eating together between classes. I\u2019m very food-motivated so that\u2019s how I\u2019ve created friendships. You get closer when you dish over coffee. I also miss just meeting people through weird circumstances. I met someone in a writing circle and we just hung out and kicked a pop can between each other like 5-year olds. You can show people you\u2019re weird when you\u2019re together. You don\u2019t have that community building when you\u2019re by yourself in your room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing. I hate it when people make small talk with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s Going Well Right Now?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the first time since I started school, I wake up feeling more or less ready to get to work. Before, if I didn\u2019t have class that day, I would wake up, soak up all the time in my bed, eat a big meal, and not get to work until late afternoon. I mean, sometimes I still do that. But there are more days where I wake up feeling motivated. Maybe it\u2019s partly because I\u2019m getting more sleep.\u201d

\u201cI have more flexibility to work full time.\u201d

\u201cI am able to keep up with my studies even though I am overwhelmed.\u201d

\u201cI\u2019m a little ahead on essays and things right now. It\u2019s a miracle!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSurprisingly, I am well ahead of my work. I think this is because I am not as physically tired from walking around campus every day… I seem to have more \u2018usable\u2019 hours in a day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been setting 25-minute timers to focus on a task \u2013 I heard that this was the ideal period of time to concentrate. It adds some urgency to the work when I have a lot of things due. I\u2019m not perfect; sometimes I hear the timer going off and I\u2019m already on my phone. But it\u2019s a tactic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUm. I have food. I have shelter.\u201d

\u201cGetting there on time! It\u2019s much easier when you just have to drag yourself from bed to the computer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGetting to read and discuss amazing novels, and learn about really interesting topics in some of my other classes (e.g. Indigenous history and terrorism\/human rights).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t had to talk to anyone I don\u2019t explicitly choose to talk to in months! :D\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo one has asked me this question yet and I\u2019m sad to say that I don\u2019t think anything is going well. There are some benefits to online learning, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve experienced any yet… Does not having to bus for an hour to get to campus count?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are You Struggling With?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSelf-motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving the self-discipline to force myself to do work when I\u2019m at home amongst my unlimited distractions, and not having the ability to fully separate between school work and home to have downtime with separate locations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m struggling to keep up with all of the small assignments. As you progress through the English program, essays get longer and longer. This year, the essays are still longer but there are so many more small assignments than what I\u2019m used to. I have at least two assignments to complete every single week, making it very difficult to find time for my final essays.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt feels pretty lonely sometimes. I miss all the people that I used to see just about every day but am not close-enough friends with to reach out to individually now. It\u2019s harder keeping in sustained contact with friends than I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKeeping in touch with friends who have moved away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn general, I\u2019m struggling to figure out what to do with my life. I\u2019m applying for my Master\u2019s and trying to find my way and there are so many uncertainties. Will I move to Toronto? Will it be online and I won\u2019t have to? Will I keep living here and find a job? Will I be able to travel during my MA like I planned? Some things don\u2019t seem possible now… I\u2019m trying to live day by day without feeling like I\u2019m only living day by day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think late bedtimes and distractions are my #1 struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I think I\u2019m definitely struggling with motivation. I used to really enjoy school and it was pretty much my favourite thing, but the online environment has turned school into something I dread doing. Since it\u2019s my last year, I was looking forward to lots of in-class discussions, because that\u2019s my favourite thing about school and my program. But with everything online, I feel like I\u2019m missing out on the classes I should have enjoyed the most. I also find it really draining to spend so much time on my computer and feeling like the expectations for our work is the same even though the quality of the education we are receiving is significantly lower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFighting anxiety and depression. Going back to school was supposed to be a fun time and I took an extra year to reduce my stress \u2013 who knew!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m struggling with focus. Today\u2019s a workday for me and even though I have a lot of work to do on top of my schoolwork, for some reason I feel such a gravitational pull towards my phone. I say my time is all spent on school but realistically there is a lot of procrastinating. It\u2019s not even fun, I just need time to not be working. I know the work\u2019s important and needs to be done, and I\u2019m stressed, but it\u2019s almost at a distance \u2013 meanwhile, I\u2019m sitting dead-eyed watching compilations of One Direction on James Corden, and it\u2019s not even bringing me joy, just something close to it. I don\u2019t know how to take proper breaks, and the unintentional breaks take up so much unintentional time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Goji
Goji (Jaclyn\u2019s puppy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In One Word, Can You Describe How this Semester Feels?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBusy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTransitional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDreary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFull.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInteresting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMessy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHectic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNope!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So there you have it. Every single one of us is struggling in our own way, and yet, there\u2019s still joy: there are weddings to plan, dogs to pet, and walks to take. And of course, we\u2019ll always have milk crates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I could just say a few words about what\u2019s going on down south: let\u2019s find time to celebrate, without losing sight of how much work is still ahead of us. We face our own version of the same persistent and insidious problems up here, even if we don\u2019t like to admit to it. We can\u2019t do the work and we can\u2019t heal without truth-telling, and that starts within ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I go, let me make a toast, in the spirit of Orpheus the poet from the musical Hadestown: <\/em>\u201cTo the world we dream about \u2013 and the one we live in now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pandemically, your student blogger,
Jaclyn<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Jaclyn Legge is a 3rd<\/sup> or 4th<\/sup> year student returning to full-time student life after completing Co-op. She spends her free time calling to the muses for inspiration in her writing, drawing, and shower dancing routines. Her poetry has been published in Bywords.ca<\/a><\/em>. No, she doesn\u2019t want to be a teacher; she considers herself a student in every aspect of life.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My dearest fellow students, I hope this blog post finds you well. Is this blog post finding you well? Or is it finding you under the covers at 2 p.m.? Having your first meal at 5 p.m.? Having your third coffee at 8 p.m.? Wrapping up that discussion-board post at 11:55 p.m. that\u2019s due at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34413"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34568,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34413\/revisions\/34568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}