2020 was a tough year, and with the way 2021 is shaping up to be, it’s not going to be a big improvement any time soon. Of course, the recently started vaccination is a good step in the right direction, and there is some light at the end of the tunnel, but in the more short term there is definitely still a lot to worry about. For starters, the current lockdown we have here in the Netherlands has been extended by three weeks. I am currently in my second week of teaching unsupervised, and although I am definitely grateful for the experience, it is very tiring. This lockdown means I will have to teach like this for an extra three week. Of course ‘have to’ is an exaggeration as we discussed it and the decision was mine at the end of the day. But I don’t want to be the guy that cites mental health to skip out on work in a time where we’re all working harder than we should.
And that’s the key issue here. I like teaching, and I like being helpful at my internship as well. But my mental health is in a rough state at the moment. It has been for a little while now, roughly since I was born, but it goes in waves. Of course 2020 and its aftermath have been particularly bad. I’ve been trying my best to keep up with life and everything that comes with that, using writing stuff like this as one way to cope, but it’s been tough.
And I’m not the only one. I talk to friends and people around me and all I hear is that their mental health has been better. Online classes are taking their toll, both as a student as well as a teacher, since a fair share of my friends are also in education. And now this poor mental health is turning into a serious lack of motivation. And this is where things get dangerous. I have deadlines coming up, as do many of the people around me, and a lot of us are struggling to get things done. It’s one thing to show up to work and do your thing there, but it’s a different story to then go home and work on essays and assignments.
I wish there was a proper point to this story as opposed to just another rant about mental health, but there really isn’t. I just want to say to the other people out there with similar issues to hang in there. It’ll get better eventually. And then it’ll get worse again. And then it’ll probably improve. But we gotta try our best to get through the bad days so we can go back to the good days again.
Earlier today I was listening to a fantastic song by the extremely popular band Twenty One Pilots. Their hit song stressed out was the song in question, and one of the lines stuck with me. It’s the titular line that goes
Wish we could turn back time, to the good old days.
When our mamma sang us to sleep, but now we’re stressed out.
It’s that going back to the good old days that keeps a lot of us going. I think that’s part of why the song did so well, it resonates with many of us on an emotional level. Well, that and it’s an absolute banger.
Either way, I hope we do get back to those good old days, because right now we’re definitely stressed out.
Opal Kaharis 