Student Social Workers, How Are you Doing?

Hello all!

I hope that everyone is staying safe, healthy, and taking care of themselves during the current circumstances. I wanted to have a virtual chat and check in with you all as I know it can be difficult to process these unprecedented times. There is something lingering around the internet right now that I would like to address specifically – this idea that there is a certain way we are all supposed to be dealing with this pandemic and what we should be doing with all our free time.

I invite everyone who reads this to take a deep breath. I know there are some of you who are still working and are fearful. I know there are some that can stay home, but they may be struggling with the unstructured time and the possibility of limited to no financial relief. I hear what the students are saying when they mourn their loss of a graduation ceremony, the ending of their classes, and the loss of face to face interaction with their peers. This is a traumatic experience in many ways for many different people. There is not a certain, perfect way to cope with what is happening. You are allowed to mourn what we have all lost and what you have personally lost. I encourage you to be kind to yourself and take as many much-needed breaks as you can. With no surefire end in sight to this, it is important to establish a new normal for yourself that includes copious amounts of self-care.

Along with this, I hope I am not the first to say that you are not required to do anything extravagant with your time spent at home. Productivity is a state of mind and can mean different things to each individual person. It is absolutely productive to learn new skills, deep clean your house, go on hikes with your dog, cook new foods, and finish a huge workload you have been putting off. And that is great! However, sleeping in all day is also productive when you have not been able to get good sleep in months. Playing your favorite videogame that you have not had time for is productive. Binge watching tv after taking a nice bath is productive when you have lost your sense of “me time” over the course of this semester. In the midst of a word crisis that has changed the lives of everyone, you are allowed to do whatever it is you need to do to keep yourself physically and mentally happy. I am giving you a free pass to be productive in your own way – take it!

Please know that you are not alone in this. I have struggled with the online homework, spent quite a few nights already in tears, worried about finances, and feared for the health of my loved ones. And many of your peers have too. The social work network is a beautiful one, and there are so many open arms just waiting to give you the biggest (virtual) hug. If you would like to chat with others with similar worries, there will be a Zoom student call later this month, so please be on the lookout for more information about that. We hope that you will hop on and say hello. If that is not your cup of tea and you would prefer something a little more one-on-one, I will make myself available by phone, text, email, and video chat using the contacts listed below.

Thank you all for the hard work you have done and continue to do. I am so proud of what I have seen from the Michigan student body. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!

Best,

Alexis Juarez

Phone: (989) 397-4882

Email: amjuarez@svsu.edu