Dear fellow Camosun students, employees, and instructors:
First of all, I want to thank you all for your dedication to in-person learning this term. I know it must have had taken a lot of hard work to make the return to classes in September manageable, especially in today’s climate, and it really made me happy to see the college in its prime again.
That being said, while we have been through a lot during the continuing course of COVID-19, there are also a lot of things we can take away from this. Here are some things I’ve learned during this pandemic.
1 Self-confidence
When the pandemic came on the scene, there was a huge spike in my depression, due to not having anything to really do because my entire life was basically on standby; I’m immunocompromised because of my epilepsy, so I was not allowed to go anywhere. This forced me to come up with ways to entertain myself, which was the main idea behind my Nexus column Nic’s Flicks. I also noted a huge decrease in my shyness, which resulted in me answering more questions in class and even joking with some of my classmates. That boost of confidence is one of the most positive changes that I’ve experienced.
2 Following your dreams
Even pre-pandemic, I’ve always been good at remaining dedicated to my dreams, but through COVID-19, I’m amazed at how well that same dedication has been maintained. I mean, I still want to finish college, I still want to become a journalist, and I still want to own a big house and all of that, but—and I’m not saying this for everyone—I feel that a majority of college students around the world have at least thought about giving up on their dreams. I’m just amazed and proud of the fact that despite all of the depression and anxiety that I have endured in the last year and a half, my mind was strong enough to not fall into that trap.
3 Prioritizing
I will go on record and fully admit that my prioritizing needs some work. Just last Tuesday, I planned to work on this piece all day. That did not happen. What happened instead was I played Need for Speed for five hours straight and then got a headache from it and napped for the rest of the day. Now here I am at 4 in the morning writing this. Prioritize, Nick, prioritize!
I know this is a hard time for everyone. Although we may not know anything about our uncertain future, I can promise you that there are things we can do to secure a hopeful outcome for it. If you’re a writer, you can help by sharing your gifts with the internet by writing informative pieces that give people hope instead of preying on their fears. Musicians can write songs that are cheerful and uplifting and then also upload them to the internet so that the whole world can hear their unique, passionate messages.
Lastly, as we go through this next phase of this pandemic, I think it’s important to remember that we’re all in this together, and if we just put up with all of the restrictions, we will get out of this some day.