Reflection

Reflection from a 2019 graduate.

Here is a little reflection piece from our 2019 Vice  School Captain Sadhana Sridhar on how she is  handling her first year of university all while dealing with the challenges of learning online, missing her peers, classroom structure and social distancing .  

2020 has been a tough start for all of us. 

Following the Bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic is now taking a toll on our physical and mental health. Amid the chaos that this has created, as students, switching to a solely online mode of learning is causing a lot of frustration and discomfort. 

Personally, staying home within the four walls of my room has left a feeling of claustrophobia and I miss the classrooms and study spaces at school. I also function better if I have a fixed routine and meeting my mates and teachers is something I’ve always looked forward to. It feels like the train of thoughts in my head don’t have a way out because of the restriction on socialising. 

We all might be going through similar challenges in this period. So I want to share my experience with online learning and how I am trying to adapt to the new approach- “work from home” 😊

First week of online learning: 

The transition period was the most difficult- with irregular sleep routines, uncomfortable working space, sitting all day, not having defined periods of study and chill time, and the very fact that I was unable to look into the eyes of my friends/ teachers while having a conversation, completely destroyed my peace of mind. 

And there were those days when all I wanted to do was binge-watch a random crime- thriller series on Netflix- and being at home was only an advantage. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I would feel guilty looking at the pile of books on my desk- but I ignored it- can you relate? 

While attending classes from the comfort of my bed was great, I was really stressed about how I was going to perform in my exams- somehow, online learning did not feel like “real” learning because, obviously I am used to attending face-to-face classes. 

Second and third week of online learning: 

This awful “work from home” went on, but I realised that I will be unable to survive this period, if I continued stressing about the change and working with such irregularities. So I decided to bring some changes to my style of dealing with the change. By sharing it with you all today, I hope to get you all thinking about your style of “working from home”:

I decided to setup a timetable: 

Priorities for subjects change every day. If the due date for an assignment was coming up soon, I chose to do that first.

Gave equal time for work and relaxation – 

I did not cut down Netflix completely, but now I had a fixed amount of time for it 

I included workouts as a part of my daily routine- I prefer yoga and sometimes cardio if I feel the need to break a sweat

Get some movement- I got a chance to move around when at school, it’s not the same now. I noticed that I was sitting all day and my neck muscles were really sore- this is not a good feeling. So, in addition to setting up my workspace (ofcourse, ergonomically friendly), I had set repeated timers that reminded me to stretch and move

I used this chance to spend time with my family- we ate meals together, and sometimes I took time off my study schedule to cook dinner for everyone. It was surprisingly relaxing, but I should mention how nervous I was about adding the right amount of salt each time. 

I am not going to go on about all the other changes I brought to my routine. I believe what I shared with you today will get you thinking a bit more about this situation.

I learnt it the hard way that stressing about exams/ assignments does nothing but ruin my state of mind. It does literally nothing. 

Stay safe and take care.

Sadhana Sridhar