“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
Lindsey N, Student
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
That quote is from J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic The Fellowship of the Ring. Tolkien wrote the book in 1954, but the quote is amazingly appropriate for this current time. I’m sure many students, myself included, wish that this pandemic had not happened during our school years. Many of us had to say a long goodbye to friends we only just met. For many of us, online learning is a struggle. Many of our summer plans, including internships and jobs, were canceled. We have had to adapt to rapidly changing environments. Times have changed, and we have had to change with them. But having to change plans can also allow for new learning and new experiences.
Make Space for Making the Most of Time with LifeSpace
Share your journey and why this is important to you
In the past few months, I’ve had to change my academic, personal, and professional plans drastically. What I’m doing right now is not at all what I had planned for. However, I was able to adapt. I am in a new virtual internship, researching future careers, exploring my own interests, and taking time to talk with friends and family that I haven’t been able to see for a long time because of the pandemic. I have had to accept that even though what I am doing with my time and with my life right now is not what I planned it to be, I am still learning, still growing, and still making the most of the time that is given me.
Students: Learn More About LifeSpace Student Success
How would you like to inspire others?
To all my fellow students: those are struggling right now, and those who are worried about what changing plans mean for their futures, I want to remind them to take a deep breath. Everyone is feeling this way. It’s okay to be nervous or worried. I’d recommend that they try something new, such as a virtual professional development class through their library, reading a new book, meditating, or volunteering. One great way to help out right now would be to sign up to adopt a grandparent, and be a friend to senior citizens in nursing homes that are lonely and without visitors. Just because we have to stay in place physically doesn’t mean that we have to stop making the most of our time. In fact, it may be a way that we can learn something completely new.
Ready to share your story?
If you are someone making space for something important personally, professionally or socially this year, please send us your story
Organize your life with LifeSpace
Download LifeSpace and start organizing your life, personally, professionally and socially: