College Students Navigating COVID-19- Unique Problem

Living in a time like this, everyone is at high alert. We are constantly awaiting the decisions of what will come next and the fate of our future. Entering almost two months in "quarantine" now, everyone has had to adjust to different lifestyles. Whether those changes were slight or severe, no one is living their life in the same condition as they were a couple of months ago. As an 18 year old college student, in just a few weeks, it seems like my life has been completely uprooted and jumbled around. One day I was enjoying my life in the city, studying for my midterms, and hanging out with my friends. The next day I was buying a train ticket back home and packing all of my essentials. I packed everything with the idea that I would be coming back in just a few weeks and that everything would be back to normal. Boy, was I wrong. All of a sudden I went from being five minutes away from my best friends to being fifteen hours from them. It has been almost two months since I moved back home, bringing only a suitcase and a backpack with me, and the adjustment was something I never expected to have experienced. The biggest problem that I have faced, next to boredom, is being ungrateful.

Because everything happened so quickly and it all came to an end so unexpectedly, coping with this change has no doubt been difficult. This was not the way that anyone expected to spend the remainder of their school year. And because of this, being separated from our friends and not being able to fulfill the plans that we had imagined, it becomes very easy to feel as if our whole lives are falling apart. This has been one of the biggest struggles for me. When I found out that I wouldn't be returning back to campus after spring break, I cried. A lot. I kept thinking of my friends that I never got to say a proper goodbye to and all of the things that we planned and goals that we had for the rest of our freshman year. And not being able to do those things hurt.

Being teenagers, it is very easy to feel as if the world revolves around us. Even though that is not even remotely the case. We feel young and free and able to do whatever we want a lot of the time, especially as college students. So when this freedom is taken away from us, as it is as a result of the virus, it feels like a personal attack. "Why is this happening to me?" As if we are some exception to every rule and that nothing bad could ever happen to our generation. As a result of this uncertain and unstable time, I am guilty of feeling that my life is terrible and it can never get better.

When in reality, I am doing a lot better than many others during this time. And this is where the problem comes into play. Right now, both of my parents still have their jobs. Albeit they are working from home, but they are still getting paid. And that's more than a lot of people can say right now. Although I am not able to see my friends physically, I still have multiple means to communicate with them virtually, through texting and FaceTime. Again, some people can't relate to that statement either. It is so easy to become swept up in our own lives that we are blinded by the lives of others around us. During a time like this especially, when everyone needs to work together, it is important to be grateful for the things that we do have.

I say that this problem is mostly unique to teenagers or college students because we did have to make a pretty large adjustment, leaving the majority of our belongings and lives in another city, state, or even a different country. No longer do we have the freedom that was promised to us in our college years.

A solution to this problem is being aware. Although our lives may not be the best right now, I am sure that there are people going through a lot worst because of this pandemic. There is nothing wrong with feeling bad for yourself, these times are no doubt difficult, but it is still important to realize that a lot of people are feeling the same way. Being aware is a very easy fix to being ungrateful. And this could be true in many ways. You could be more aware by:

1. Checking the news and staying updated on the latest information concerning COVID-19

2. Because this could get pretty grim, reminding yourself of all the good things going on in your life too

3. Stay connected with others who are going through similar challenges

This solution is an example of human-centered design. It focuses on the needs and requirements of the user. In this case, the user being a college student. It involves the human perspective in all steps of the problem solving process as it focuses on the feelings and emotions of the user.