Schoolwork = boredom. That’s the only thought I’ve had for most of the quarantine; I know I should get it done, but I just can’t seem to bring myself to even want to begin. I sit at my desk, stare at my giant calendar on the wall, and hope some form of motivation comes along to push me to actually write that giant research paper that’s due in a week. Being trapped inside has absolutely killed my drive for schoolwork, and I know it’s killing everyone else’s too. Finding the energy to sit down and research poetry when the entire world is on a crazed lockdown seems ridiculous, but school doesn’t stop for pandemics! Here’s three ways I’ve found time and energy to help me get through schoolwork for the past few weeks.
One of the few ways I’ve been able to make it through online classes is by doing work with my roommates. Basically, we’ve all turned our homework into games, teaching each other and giving prizes (snacks!) for the best lecture. For my metaphysical poetry class, I read them my poetry and have them try to guess the meanings of the stanzas (which, none of us ever get completely right, if you ask my teacher during our Zoom classes). Find ways to make things funny and soon you won’t even think about the amount of work you’re doing!
Whenever I can’t bring myself to finish books every three days for my upper-level courses, I see if I can find summaries on youtube or sparknotes. Finding videos to watch while writing out posts for moodle has been great because it helps me pick out specific elements to discuss in more detail for my assignments. Videos can make all kinds of boring subjects easier to understand and they help you retain information better!
This year has brought about some unprecedented circumstances, and it’s okay to say that. Struggling in college is plenty normal, but adding in the pressure of online classes, a pandemic, and fears about the world can certianly make college much harder than normal. If you need to slack off and concentrate on your health, do it! One C (or in our case, taking the class as Pass/Fail) will not kill you. It won’t be the end of the world. Don’t be too hard on yourself, everyone else is struggling too. Do what you need to do for your mental health, the rest will sort itself out.
The world may be falling apart around us, but you can do this! With only three weeks left in the quarter, remember: if you’ve made it through this many Zoom classes, you can do anything you set your mind to!