{"id":21763,"date":"2021-11-18T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T17:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=21763"},"modified":"2021-11-18T10:56:02","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T18:56:02","slug":"leaving-the-cave-remember-were-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2021\/11\/18\/leaving-the-cave-remember-were-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaving the Cave<\/em>: Remember we’re together"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you look out the window these days and see nothing but rain, rain, rain, and more rain, do you ever stop and ask yourself what kind of self-care we need to do in these unsettling times?<\/p>\n

Although COVID-19 is sort of kind of maybe calming down, am I the only one who feels like a pallid, shadowy version of their pre-COVID self? There are the obvious choices to turn to: join an online yoga class, eat more leafy greens, work on a list of Reddit personas, maybe read a self-help book by some pearly-white-veneers-smiling, glasses-resting-on-the-tip-of-the-nose, Harvard-PhD-having psychologist who balances a perfect marriage, work, and 2.5 kids and has just discovered the secret to self-completion is gardening.<\/p>\n

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Leaving the Cave<\/em> is a column about returning to in-person learning in 2021 (photo by Emily Welch\/Nexus<\/em>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But during these times\u2014these times of unemployment and expensive food, rent, and gas, with consumerism and capitalism boom-boom-booming along\u2014while trying to remember to bring your mask and now your vaccine passport whenever you leave the house, is it not a wonder that we\u2014students, professors, anyone at all\u2014might feel just a tad exhausted?<\/p>\n

I’m just going to put it out there: the world is a mess at the moment and I think most of us are struggling a bit in our most private, innermost selves. Resilience is something that humankind is great at, but sometimes it is just really difficult. There are more hard times to come, but hopefully the darkest parts are over. If that isn\u2019t the case, we’ve already proved that we can practice bipartisanship, it’s just harder for some to let go and try to figure out solutions as a society of people who all were babies once and all have feelings of fear, hurt, shame, anger, and joy.<\/p>\n

So what answers are there for students who are trying to figure out who they are and who they\u2019re meant to be? And what about instructors, counsellors, editors, and supporters who are trying to help the students find their way while keeping their own ship afloat? I don\u2019t know anything else but this: try to stay safe and to stay kind, and know that whatever torn-up, messed-up feelings you\u2019re having, the next person you interact with is probably having them too (or has, or will).<\/p>\n

So, don’t forget to eat your breakfast, hug your friends, parents, or pets, and remember we are all here with our struggles and our laughs, all here together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you look out the window these days and see nothing but rain, rain, rain, and more rain, do you ever stop and ask yourself what kind of self-care we need to do in these unsettling times? Although COVID-19 is sort of kind of maybe calming down, am I the only one who feels like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,259],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","category-november-17-2021"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t