On a rainy Monsoon morning, I went to university for admission. I carried some coconut water along with the necessary paperwork since I hadn’t been feeling well for quite some time. I had almost lost all willpower. I joined my first day at university, holding my sister’s hand. She gave me so many instructions while on our way. Since I got admission during the COVID-19 pandemic, my classes were and still are online. I’m experiencing something great – virtual classrooms, teachers’ directives, online classmates. It’s like a new world, a new experience, outside of the conventional rules.

I’ve learned a lot through online classes and have become more tech-savvy. It’s a new environment, but the word “environment” isn’t accurate for this situation. I’m not sure what word to use to describe it. This is where I started to feel lonely since I couldn’t meet anyone in online classes. I didn’t know what style everyone spoke in or what facial expressions they used. So, it was a bit difficult to understand everyone.

This one time, a classmate spoke to me in a loud voice in front of everyone. Perhaps their intentions were good, but their tone did not come off as friendly. I felt upset. The first day I had such an experience, I cried a lot, wondering why they spoke to me like this in front of everyone. They could have explained the matter to me calmly instead.

I found it challenging to cope with online classes. The word “cope” is so simple, yet it has caused so much anxiety in real life. I used to think about how I shared mental health awareness content on Facebook every day to keep millions of people’s mental health in check. But did I take care of my own mental health?

I have taken some steps to maintain good mental health:

I have started to make time for myself outside of classes and assignments. This time is only for me and I determine what I do with it. I do not necessarily always have to be productive during this time either.

• I set goals for myself depending on what I want.

• I set boundaries for myself and for others with whom I interact.

• I look for the positive side to everything. I think positivity is a blessing in our lives. Being positive also makes many complex tasks easier. So, spread positivity.

• I like spending time with my family. So, I have started to take special care of my family members.

• I do breathing exercises to reduce anxiety.

• And I do whatever I enjoy.

In the end, I want to say, to keep the body healthy, you must take care of the mind.

Life doesn’t end if I fail to achieve something.