This break was not part of your plan. You weren’t expecting your second semester to be cut short. You weren’t anticipating packing up your belongings and saying goodbyes just yet. 

While you understand why the in-person portion of your semester has come to an end, you also feel a sense of loss. Your life was completely changed in a matter of weeks, and you honestly don’t know exactly how you feel about it.

In these days of adjusting to being home again, remember these four pieces of advice.

Be kind to yourself.

This phrase may sound cliche, but you need to speak kindly to yourself for the next few weeks. You are going to feel “off” many days. You are going to feel restless. You may even feel angry. This is normal.

Speak kindly to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up about feeling disappointed or lonely. Don’t beat yourself up about needing more sleep or needing to relax. 

Be patient with yourself.

While you know you have no control over your semester, give yourself time to adjust to all this change. You likely won’t automatically be fine with being home, being away from friends, and being back on the family schedule.

You may find yourself struggling to adjust back to this old normal that feels more like a new normal. You may lack the ability to focus. You may struggle waking up at a decent time. 

Allow yourself some space to process the change. Give yourself at least a few days to adjust to this odd situation.

Be prepared to struggle.

No college freshman wants to struggle living at home. Living at home is different from when you were in high school, so struggling is normal. Expect to feel slightly frustrated with the restrictions of home. 

Taking multiple classes from home is also a new experience. Even if you’ve taken a few courses online, this academic adjustment will be challenging. Expect to struggle focusing, managing your time, and studying.

Being away from your college friends for months is different from the semester break. You may find yourself feeling isolated, struggling to stay in contact. Expect to feel some loneliness.

You can conquer these challenges, but this transition will take some extra work on your part. 

Be intentional.

While you need to give yourself some time to adjust and recover, be careful not to establish bad habits. You can easily make the habit of consistently spending your time on meaningless things. 

Don’t set yourself up to struggle more than you may already when your college classes start again. Try to create some sort of a schedule, even during your break, that will help you keep to a loose routine.

Though you wouldn’t have chosen this semester for yourself, you can make the best of this transition. Choose to be kind, patient, prepared, and intentional during this time. And stay tuned for more posts to help you navigate the rest of this semester!