by Beth Royston 2020 was taxing for everyone, but I felt like I had a double helping of misfortune. Not only was there the pandemic to contend with, but I had a disastrous trip abroad last year, and have been dealing with the symptoms of PTSD ever since. I already have a lot to worry about — myself staying safe, my friends and family staying … Continue reading Learning to be Comfortable with the Uncomfortable
Whether in mandatory or self-imposed isolation, people are turning to hobbies like arts and crafts to keep themselves occupied. One fun project having a moment on social media is zine-making: The hashtag #quaranzine has over 5,000 hits on Instagram. Merriam-Webster defines a zine as “a noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter.” There is no right or … Continue reading Crafting in Quarantine: “Quaranzines”
by Beth Royston While I am eagerly awaiting finals to be finished, I’m not exactly looking forward to summertime either. I’m a student that chooses to take a break over the summer and not take any classes, and work to save up as much as I can for expenses throughout the year. I usually approach summer with mixed feelings. I enjoy the break from classes, … Continue reading Summer Woes
by Beth Royston My partner and I will celebrate our five-year anniversary in early July. Last year, we took a trip to the coast after realizing he’d never been, and visited a lovely aquarium, which was very nostalgic. One of our first dates was at an aquarium — that first date was on our one year anniversary, after he’d flown out from Ohio to California … Continue reading Through Sickness and Health
by Beth Royston A lot of us have a lot more time on our hands recently, and I’ve been getting back to my baking wishlist. I’ve always loved baking and have watched The Great British Baking Show on Netflix more times than I can count, but took a bit of an unenthusiastic break while I was in a series of apartments (with the exception of … Continue reading Out of Oven, Out of Mind
Recently, I wrote about my experiences under lockdown in student housing. Although being alone in quarantine was weighing on my mental health, I said that crashing with family or friends in Southern Oregon was not an ideal option for me. Since that post, I tried really hard to make the best of my situation — I went through every coping skill I could think of: … Continue reading Making Do
In March, Housing and Residence life sent out a mass email encouraging those of us in student housing to move if feasible. By doing so, we’d be lowering the amount of interpersonal contact in the buildings, and therefore lowering the chance that COVID-19 could spread among us. The result was a mass exodus of student residents. For the last few weeks of winter term and … Continue reading Lockdown in Student Housing
