A day in the life of a student during a pandemic

Routine. That’s the first word I think of when I look back on my first year of uni.

Wake up, go to lectures, maybe stop off at the library, come home, relax, sleep, repeat.

After you receive your timetable, nothing really changes, so routines are naturally formed. So second and third year should be more or less the same, right?

Well, once you throw a global pandemic into the mix…things are going to change. Drastically. As we edge closer towards normality, here is what a typical day in my life as a journalism student involves.

10:30AM

I wake up around this time most mornings. I used to be someone who couldn’t STAND to sleep past 9am, (emphasis on the ‘used to’...) but since my lectures usually start after 12, getting up early isn’t exactly a priority of mine. I could wake up earlier and be more ‘productive’ with my time, but I rarely have the motivation to do so.

10:50AM Nine times out of ten, my flatmate is mid-shower when I wake up, and there is no way I am using the boys’ bathroom, so I’ll sit scrolling through Twitter until I hear the door unlock and I bolt out of my room. The adrenalin really gets me going!

11:03AM

Scrolling through TikTok on the loo is a dangerous pastime. As soon as my legs start going numb, that’s when I know I should probably stop. So I do!

Most of the time.

12:05PM

I’m never hungry for breakfast so I just wait until lunch. I grab something to eat from my always-cluttered kitchen; usually some pitta bread with hummus. Probably a smoothie, too. I make uncomfortable eye-contact with the dishes in the sink and head back upstairs to my desk.

12:14PM

This is when I start to get in the ‘uni mindset’. I check my to-do list, realising I forgot to actually write anything for this week, and get to adding things. See, I’m a very forgetful person, so not only do I have a to-do list on my laptop, I also have one on a whiteboard next to my desk.

12:59PM

Learning time! What have we got for today? A guest lecture… on Google Meets, of course. I say hello to the lecturer and the other 98 people who also have their cameras turned off. Luckily, everyone has to have them turned off, so it’s not like I’m doing it to be rude. Oh, and I would prefer not to showcase how dishevelled I look to my coursemates. But I’m certain most of them are in the same boat as me!

1:57PM

My uni is done for the day, so I usually head to my flatmate's room to go pester her out of boredom. I boast about finishing my classes as she glares back at me with countless pages of reading left to do.

2:30PM

We somehow manage to procrastinate for half an hour by talking about anything and everything, and I saunter back to my desk. Since I have lots of extra time today, I choose to work on one of the many deadlines I have this month.

3:21PM

Airpods in, water bottle filled, monitor on... I’m in the zone. Typing away, no end in sight. Until I get a singular notification on my phone and get distracted for an HOUR. How, you may ask? I’m wondering the same thing, to be honest.

4:21PM

I’ve put my phone on Do Not Disturb. Under my pillow. It’s the only way. Out of sight, out of mind!

5:22PM

After working for an hour straight, the hunger kicks in. I put the finishing touches on some work for a portfolio, and submit it. Feeling good! I’ve accomplished so much today, so time to have some dinner! My choices are endless, since I just did a food shop. Shall I cook something, perhaps? Like a nice pasta bake? Or maybe even some enchiladas?

Nope. You know what sounds good to me? A freezer-burned chicken pie and wedges.

5:52PM I am full and satisfied. My flatmate is usually finished with uni around this time, so I’ll follow her down to the kitchen as she cooks a delectable hot meal, filling the entire kitchen with a beautiful aroma of paprika, onions and garlic.

6:13PM

Recently, we’ve been into playing Mario Kart on the Wii a lot, so we’ll have a few races (which I win, of course.)

7:24PM

I’ll scroll through some local Facebook groups to see if there is anything interesting that I can write about and bring to my newsday later in the week. It’s usually just people advertising their businesses or asking for recommendations, but occasionally you stumble upon a real gem.

7:44PM

More Mario Kart.

8:25PM

I’m hungry again, so I get some ice-cream. I can’t say I do much else in the evenings, as it’s my ‘relaxing time’, so it varies. Hanging out in the kitchen is my favourite though, because all four of us are usually around at this time to talk to each other.

9:23PM

We’ve swapped to Wii Sports Resort now.

10:02PM

I’m on Twitter, this time on my journalism account. I’m looking at everything my fellow course mates are achieving, and I feel so happy for them! However, a bit of me starts to feel worried. Am I doing enough? Do I need to be more productive? What have I achieved? I panic. I go into my alarm app and set it for 8:00am. “I’m going to do better,” I think to myself.

11:49PM

We head upstairs and hang out in our rooms for a bit. I get changed into my pyjamas, a.k.a putting on a different set of jogging bottoms than during the day. I’ll watch some things on YouTube. The guilt of ‘not doing enough’ is still hanging over me, but then realisation hits:

I’m in a global pandemic. Why am I putting so much pressure on myself?

11:50PM

I deleted that alarm for 8:00AM.

12:32AM

I brush my teeth and wash my face and head straight to TikTok. My flatmate and I will say goodnight and continue to send TikTok's to each other, with intervals of checking other social media.

1:56AM

Finished with TikTok for the day, I check that my 10:30AM alarm is set for about the seventh time, before finally being satisfied and putting my phone on my bedside table.

1:58AM

I forget about my morning 1-2-1, so I reluctantly change my alarm to 9:30AM.

As you can probably tell, my life as a uni student may be drastically different to others, but I just wanted to say. Comparing yourself to other people, especially those on your course, does more harm than good. Don’t forget to remind yourself that we are literally coming out of a global pandemic! It’s okay not to be motivated. It’s okay not to be as energetic. Just take each day as it comes.

Oh, and play some Mario Kart. It’s good for the soul.

Edited by Pia Cooper