Posted April 22, 2020
By JENAE CAREY, CSU Public Relations Intern
Hello friends! My name is Jenae and I am a Public Relations Intern at the Communications Office in the CSU. I’m a senior graduating in May, studying Mass Media with an emphasis on Public relations and communications.
I wanted to start a blog that addresses things that you, as a student, can relate to. Being in my fourth year of college, I feel I have some helpful insight to offer. This will be a weekly blog post, so sit back, sip on some coffee, and let’s chat!
We’ve gotten this far in the national lockdown. Now you may be thinking about what life will be like after.
While I can’t tell you exactly what it will be like, or the political side of things, I can tell you what life after the stay-at-home order will mean to me.
I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, I have been taking a lot of time to reflect. While it’s important to stay up-to-date with what’s happening around the world, it’s also important to take care of yourself and use this time to your advantage.
Personally, I have been reflecting a lot during my daily runs/workouts. I think about how grateful I am to have a healthy family during this time, food in my pantry, graduating college and getting my degree… The list goes on and on if you really think deeply about it.
Being a genuinely good person is something that’s always been important to me. So during this time, I’ve thought about how I was behaving before the COVID outbreak.
Was I friendly enough to others? Was I lending a helping hand to those in need? Was I putting my all into everything I had been doing?
While thinking about this, I realized I have been coasting through life and just trying to get by. As a college student, you feel like you struggle a lot – mentally and emotionally. College is draining…. while it’s fun and exciting, it’s also very stressful.
Since I’ve been staying at home and not living my normal life, it’s become apparent to me that this isn’t the way it should have been. I wasn’t practicing gratitude for the life I was living.
I know how cheesy it sounds. Still, I think it needs to be addressed.
How can we each live a more mindful and grateful life? People will go on and on about how the stay-at-home order made them realize how much they had to be thankful for. How long with that last? When will that end?
My answer…. it doesn’t have to!
Expressing gratefulness is something I have always tried to do. Yet I find it’s very easy to get caught up in the negative aspects of life and not take time to consider the positives. Despite COVID-19, there’s still plenty of room for hope, joy and thankfulness.
So think about these times of fear, doubt, hopelessness, sadness, frustration – whatever it may be. Then take time to reflect and record what we truly have to be grateful for.
I know how big of a difference being grateful makes for me, so give it a try.
Here’s an idea: Journal about these times. How are you feeling today? What is something you’re grateful for? What is something you learned today?
This can be something you look back on, and someday show your kids. It will help you stay grounded even when things are going good. I think one thing this pandemic has taught us is that you never know how fast things can change.
Hang in there Mavericks! Crack open your journal, you won’t regret it.
