As a student recovering from the Fall 2020 semester, it felt like I experienced an entire book series worth of trauma and character development, all shoved into a 16-week semester.

Instead of looking out for my own well-being, I was enrolled in 18 credit hours, worked two jobs and also took on an internship. Having agreed to all of this, I’m not asking for pity. I simply wish I was the only person who had to deal with the accompanying challenges, roadblocks and emotional scarring from last semester, but I know that to be unrealistic.

In many ways, we’re all bonded by the hardships of pursuing a higher education during a pandemic, while also living through an agonizing election year, with social and environmental injustices running rampant, unexpected personal troubles, and so much more. If you’re reading this, you are a survivor, and this semester will most likely test you even further.

But challenges are meant to be accepted.

Despite the difficulties I personally had while navigating my commitments and self care outlets last semester (I ate one too many cheesy roll-ups to classify my energy intake as a “diet”), I like to think that last semester tested me so I could prove what I am capable of overcoming. I am a stronger woman than who I was a year ago, more passionate, caring, and I wouldn’t be that way if I didn’t have the courage to fully address whatever challenge or hardship lay in my way.

I am completely aware of the amount of power that outside factors can have on what we are forced to overcome in life, but when you treat your hardships like lessons and value them for strengthening you, your mindset has the ability to widen and capture so much more than simple, egotistical concerns.

After experiencing the most emotionally draining semester of my educational career, I’m coming into this new semester ready to learn. Not only from lessons provided by my professors, socially-distanced peers and deadpan audiobook narrators, but also from my experiences and reactions to what I cannot control. Living in a world of anthropocentric viewpoints has pushed me to value all forms of life, and in order to do so, it’s important to start on an internal level.

This semester, I hope to implement self-reflection throughout my different relationships, increase consideration for all, and maybe add a couple extra minutes to my REM sleep cycle. I truly believe this agenda will lead to a more enjoyable scholastic experience for me, since I am the one who chooses the adjectives to describe my life.

With even more classes face-to-face for the Spring 2021 semester, I’m thankful to be able to further my education in the classroom. In addition to having an encouraging mindset, it’s important to remain just as, if not more, cautious as last semester in regards to safety precautions. I really have enjoyed learning and furthering my face-to-face connections, so I hope we can safely stay in-person for as long as possible—I’m looking at you, anti-maskers and those that are still partying.