Balancing Virtual School with Life: By Miranda Smith

We are going through a time of the unknown, of the uncertain. It's scary a lot of the time, and many of us don't even know what we are doing. During these troubling and unsettled times, it's important to be able to balance school work from home, out of school activities, and maintaining physically and mentally healthy lifestyles. 

Getting up in the morning is personally one of the hardest things to do in the day. The motivation to get dressed and ready to just go and sit in a chair with your eyes locked on a bright screen is so small. The vibes are completely different when you're surrounded by peers and a teacher who is actually standing in front of you. However, getting up and actually changing out of pajamas, washing your face, making yourself some breakfast and tea, you end up feeling a lot better and can even focus more too. I understand that this won't work for everyone, but something I would recommend trying is having a friend over that you've been seeing over quarantine who you may have a class with and do school together. I get distracted super easily on my own and I can when I'm with my friends, but having someone else there can keep you on track and leave you feeling a lot more happy and energized by the end of the school day. My sister has done it twice and I have done it once and it ended up being a very successful and efficient day that left me feeling more accomplished and in a better mood. 

After school, I like taking a thirty minute break before finishing or completing any work or homework that needs to be done. It's important to give yourself a brain break, because sometimes trying to do it all at once, you get less done in more time than what could've been less time with more work completed.

After completing everything related to school, do something you love to do. The silver lining that has came with quarantine, at least for me, is I've got to work on and try things that I haven't gotten to before because I have always been too busy. If I have time, I love to paint. It's a stress free task where you can express and visualize emotions or feelings that have been bottled up inside of you. If painting isn't your thing, go for a walk outside to get some fresh air, watch a movie with your family, or just get out of the house and go somewhere. Something that has kept me happy through quarantine is dance. When Covid first started, we did live virtual zoom dance classes. Even though it's not as much fun as in person, it kept us moving and doing what we love. Now, I get to dance in the studio with a mask on with smaller groups every other day and virtually live on the days I'm not in person. It keeps me moving and happy. With the craziness with school and everything happening in the world, find something you love to do to keep you feeling healthy and happy.