My Challenges as a student at the time of COVID 19

Prolonged Isolation

I cannot spend time with my new block like how we used to spend time inside a physical
classroom. Aside from my new classmates, I only occasionally talk to some of my friends
because I feel like they are too busy with their academic load to talk to me. I crave for actual
human interaction like eating lunch together, exchanging stories of how our weekend went by,
and how we used to cry and rant out our frustration in the halls of AMV right after the major
exams.

To address this issue, I try my best to talk and interact with my friends every weekend, I
ask how they are coping with our lessons and chat with them about their posts and stories in
social media.

Self-Study

It was hard for me to get a grip of how to adjust and study the materials on my own.
There are times when the professor rarely conducts classes. I am not used to doing self-study
because I find it hard to focus and understand the new topic on my own. In self-study, I could
merely memorize the process of how to come up with the right answer, but I could not
understand why and how the process came about.

Regarding my classes, I try to find different credible sources just like lecture videos from
different professors to aid me in my studies. If there are materials that I could not understand, I
would send an email to m professor for further clarification.

Time Management

In relation to doing self-study, unlike in face-to-face classes when I need to be in a

certain time and place to attend the class, I just have to set aside some time in a day to watch my
prerecorded lecture videos. Due to procrastination and poor time management, the videos would
pile up and I will be left cramming and overwhelmed the day before the exams.
 I would make a whole day schedule every night for the next day. The whole day schedule
will consist of what I plan to watch and do, complete with time stamps. By doing this, I now
have a clear goal every day which makes it easier for me to finish my tasks.

Missed Experiences

I used to dream about entering my dream school and experiencing the full college
experience within the four corners of the university. During the face-to-face classes, I would
often stay in the library to study in a nice desk and undisturbed ambiance. I miss the short walks
from my dormitory to the university; I miss how I would stare at the Main Building and be filled
with adrenaline and eagerness to learn; I miss the small things that makes UST experience
whole.

Since there was no Paskuhan this year, I just watched the online Paskuhan. I would also
virtually walk around the Minecraft server of the university to mimic my therapeutic walks
around UST. Nothing beats the actual experience but virtually doing so will suffice for now.

Unstable Internet

It is hard to study in an online environment when the internet connection is not reliable.
While answering my major exams, I will always fear that I will be disconnected and it would be
hard to reconnect again, which actually happened to me multiple times before.

During the early stages of the online class, I would always panic when I get disconnected
but now, I learned to be calm about it. I will always save a draft of my email to the technical
team before answering my exams.

Mental Health

Amid the chaos and uncertainty covid has brought to the country, my mental health had a
hard time coping. During this time, I experienced the grief of losing someone dear, losing my
grandfather and experiencing a heartbreak. Covid may not be the direct cause but it set the path
towards this end.

I asked the help of the guidance counselor to help me sort out my feelings. I cannot
honestly say that I’m now better, but I am doing my best to accept the reality and move on.
Despite my setbacks and countless failures, I am still proud of myself. I realized that I am much
stronger than I originally believed. The growth I had by going through this rough patch in my life
made me bloom into who I am today: sharper, wiser and a little bit more matured.