South Bend, IN
I just can’t overstate how much more difficult this situation is for students who are parenting… I understand that there are other challenging situations people face, but I often feel alienated further by the fact that I am parenting while working on my PhD, and the COVID crisis seems to have exacerbated that.
Big Rapids, MI
Strange times don’t even begin to explain this. Yesterday I sat on my bed with my daughters and we all worked on our homework. My oldest daughter said, ” I don’t know if I can do this much longer, mom”. There was silence and we could hear the rain outside, thundering against the ground. And then we heard a bird, not chirping, but singing. I told my daughter we need to be like that bird, it’s raining on our lives right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find some happiness.
Knoxville, TN
I am the younger of two siblings, and I was always the one who had the most trouble with education. During high school I found out I was struggling with depression and was constantly stressed and anxious. My first year of college was the worst. I had nowhere to go, and felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. I struggled to get through most days and even considered drastic measures. This continued into sophomore year, until I found my people. I began the process to be accepted into a small program at my school which was a grueling process. But I was accepted, and quickly became close with a small group in the program. These people pulled me up and helped me everyday. We told each other everything and lifted one another up. If one of us was going through something, someone was always there to help you through it. I was not one for big social gatherings, and survived off of close small groups of friends. And this is what I found. We spent every day together and learned the deepest parts of each other. They’re my best friends and will continue to be for years down the road. That’s the one thing I’m most thankful for from my experience.
South Bend, IN
I do not have a good home environment with very toxic parents and maybe verbal abuse but I don’t really know what counts as that. Therefore whenever I am at home for extended periods of time, it is just horrible for my mental health and I am in so much emotional pain. My older brother found a host family for me initially in Rhode Island, but then they found out they were pregnant and kicked me out. As everyone had already settled into their living situations and it was right after the first week of classes, there weren’t many options so I had to sublease an apartment to make sure I wouldn’t get kicked out again and traveled back to the Notre Dame area. So I’ve been there for the rest of the semester because there would be no way on earth I would be able to do school while living at home. Loneliness and isolation are already having an effect on my mental health, but it would be so much worse if I was at home.