Our UAlbany MyStory Bloggers share their lives with you to help you to stay focused on your goals, to remind and inform you about the many supports that we have on campus to help you succeed, and to let you know that, whatever you are going through, you are not alone.
If you would like to become a MyStory Volunteer, we are welcoming 4 bloggers for Fall 2020. You may earn 1 Credit through RSSW190. If you are interested, please contact us at ualbanymystory@gmail.com.
Last year, we introduced our Dinner and Discussion series, where students met and “broke bread”, or shared a meal, with each other and talked about issues related to academic adjustment. We really had a great time and a lot of useful information was shared. While we cannot meet for dinner and discussions we can still share student stories of resilience as we have been doing for 5 years.
As you begin this new journey, we hope these past blog posts will encourage you. This semester is a new endeavor for all of us. Let us lift one another up as we climb and let us be patient with one another in the midst of this global pandemic.
The following messages are re-posts from Spring 2020 about self-care and adjusting to change. Please let us know what you think by leaving a message in the comments. If you would like to contribute to UAlbanyMyStory, please contact Rachel Moody at rsmoody@albany.edu
On Self-Care & Adjusting
Meet Malik
Class of 2020
Major: Business Economics
President of The Sigma-Pi Chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity
Living and adjusting to the unusual circumstances the COVID-19 pandemic has put us in has been very interesting, and more difficult for some people than others. Personally, I feel I have been adjusting quite smoothly to the unprecedented changes I’ve dealt with thus far. Such as virtual-schooling, social-distancing, keeping myself occupied at home all day, and the other precautionary measures necessary during these times. The most difficult thing I’ve been facing since the start of the pandemic is the social-distancing. For someone as socialite as myself you could imagine how difficult it is to force myself to stay home all day and refrain from hanging out with friends. Not to mention how frustrating it is to not even have the option of going out to any public social setting (i.e. Bars, restaurants, gym, etc.). Despite how frustrating it is, I’m always one to make the best of any situation and have figured out ways to cope. I’ve decided to utilize this time of isolation to take a break from the everyday stresses that came with being active in society, and focus more on taking care of myself mentally and physically at home. Along with occasional video calls with my friends to keep me from going crazy. I’ve learned sometimes in life you just have to make the best of the cards your dealt with.
Meet Raenalynn
Class of 2021
Major: Psychology (Honors)
Minors: Criminal Justice & Education
In this time of chaos and uncertainty, it is so important to really make sure that we are taking care of our physical and mental health. There are so many ways that we can take care of ourselves while still staying safe (and indoors).
Lately, my housemates and I have taken up a lot of baking, so our house smells really good and we always have our necessary quarantine snacks! Baking really helps to take the stress off because there are always clear instructions, it doesn’t take super long, and in the end, you get something great! If you do not like cookies or cake, which is a state I do not understand, there are another things you could do to come out of “quarantine” a little bit stronger! On YouTube there are a ton of videos that you can do to workout. There are yoga videos for low impact exercise, HIIT videos for high energy, and everything in-between! This is just a quick way to get your heart rate up and hopefully get a good energy burst. Whether you do one for 15 minutes or an hour, it’s a good way to feel productive!
There are also several different ways to keep your brain from turning to mush from endless Netflix binging and also to decompress from the stress of these online classes. Personally, I really enjoy bullet journaling and journaling in general to help take my mind off the pressure from my class assignments. Bullet journaling is also a really good way to stay organized in a way that works for you and only you! They’re really customizable and you can include daily, weekly and monthly spreads, habit trackers, or other trackers. They’re also really fun to decorate and color in as you like like an adult coloring book! I’ve also found different journaling prompts about self-discovery to be really helpful in me trying to make the most our of this remote existence. Something else that YouTube also has is a lot of guided meditation videos which seems silly but it really helps calm me down especially when my assignments get really overwhelming. Meditation helps me with mindfulness, which is something I really wanted to focus on as part of my New Year’s Resolutions.
Being stuck inside really sucks especially for someone like me because I feel that I am someone who needs to be constantly doing something and being out with friends so feeling socially isolated is hard! Despite all of that, there are so many other things that we can do to focus on our wellness and self-improvement. Things obviously are not going as planned for 2020, no one could have prepared for something of this nature. We can’t go to work, we can’t go to class, and we can’t see our friends. Most of our lives have been turned upside-down. Nevertheless, we can remain positive, by taking care of ourselves. These are just a few of the things that I am doing to reduce the “Quarantine Blues.” I hope everyone’s doing what they need to to keep sane during this crazy time.
Stay safe and healthy!
Check Out Past Blogs on Self-Care and Adjusting to Drastic Change
Kerry (2017, 2019) wrote and presented on grief, loss, and self-care when she was a Project MyStory volunteer. While she was a volunteer, several students reached out to her to let her know how her posts have helped them to take steps to take better care of themselves. Click her to view her post on Self-Care for a Positive Mindset.
MyStory volunteer Leobianny (2019), had two blog series entitled, “Embracing the Uncomfortable” and “Perseverance.” All of her posts focus on self-care to some degree. If you have been hard one yourself about how you are managing this crisis, check out her post, “Self-Love is Progress.”
Ashley (Class of 2016, 2018), is could be the mascot for self-care. Even before she was a social worker, Ashley always promoted holistic healthy behaviors and consistent reflection. She wrote the following piece during less stressful times, but I think that you will still benefit from reading her post, “When the Going Gets Rough: DJ Khaled Quotes for a Mid-Semester Slump.”
Meet Christina (Class of 2016, 2018) and click on the image to read her story!
UAlbany Project MyStory 
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