Like many people, I returned to my parents’ house for the duration of lockdown. Speaking from the UK (I know, we’re aware of how badly this is being done) we are now in week 9 of social distancing and some form of lockdown and I know I am pretty much over it. Also like many people, particularly university students who have found themselves at a massive loose end, I am frantically making post-lockdown plans. And adjusting existing ones.
Originally, I was going to finish my degree in June of 2021, work for six months or so and then go travelling before I did my master’s in 2022-23. Whilst that may still be a possibility, it is looking less and less likely that the service industry will have recovered enough that I can find a full-time job in order to save for travelling. Compounding that, we have no idea what the travelling landscape will look like in 18 months from now. Either way, my plans may have to go on hold. And that, I suppose, is the point of this post. A reassurance to myself and others that plans changing is okay and to be expected at this uncertain time.
But it isn’t just that. Being at home constantly and spending much of the time reading or writing has made me think a lot more and a lot more deeply about what I really want from life and what I want to be doing after university. I have let myself deviate from my original plan and consider whether the career path I had originally chosen – complete with a very expensive master’s degree – and decide what it is that I actually want.
All of this left me in a bit of a blur. I suddenly have so many decisions to make that I didn’t have before – I am aware that marketing assistant/writer/human rights lawyer is a bit of a mouthful for LinkedIn so a bit of narrowing down might be necessary – and I feel a real sense of liberation. But I am also scared. I now have a reason not to step out into the adult world for another year – panic master’s are definitely a thing now if they weren’t before – and the prospect of changing universities or even cities for further study if I decide to pursue an interest in law. I risk – and this is another story soon to be covered – upending my parents’ plans for me and upsetting their ordered, planned sense of the world. I risk making many mistakes.
It is not an exaggeration to say that my post-lockdown plans change weekly. Not drastically, but I tweak my plans ever so slightly all too often. It feels like I am a child again, wanting to be a doctor or shopkeeper or astronaut depending on the day of the week. But why not? Why not use this time to consider every career option open to me, every travel plan or route through Europe I could take when allowed?
I have thoroughly researched alternative master’s degrees and non-study routes into different career paths and I can now honestly say that I have a better understanding of myself and what I want from life. But there comes a time when you have to live in the moment – hard as it is at the minute with many a cancelled plan passing us by – and stop focusing on life after lockdown. This time is not easy on anyone’s mental health and obsessive planning for life after lockdown (if you are anything like me) might be a sign that you are struggling.
So, my advice to any student – or anyone, really – who is making plans for after lockdown, is this:
- Consider all your options, not just the ‘safe’ ones or the ones that you know most about – you can always research and, if the current climate has proven anything, nothing is truly ‘safe’
- Consider what you want – the opinion of others is important in major life decisions, but if you know that you want something, the disapproval of others shouldn’t necessarily stop you from achieving that.
- Try not to be afraid to change plans – plans that have been in place perhaps since the start of uni now seem like a distant dream. However, you will be able to do them at some point, the world has not ended and it will recover in time.
- Be patient – I know that is both hard and compulsory at the moment, particularly in your country is doing a better job of lockdown than mine, but eventually this will end and you will be able to implement those plans
- Gain new skills – use this time to gain new skills through online courses (LinkedIn had some great ones or Open University OpenLearn offers short free modules). As an anxiety sufferer, I live for planning and making lists, but it becomes unhealthy and unhelpful at the moment when nothing can be acted upon.
- Relax – find a hobby, a new TV show or connect with friend and family. Try to distract yourself from constant planning and redrafting if this is a problem for you.
Lockdown isn’t easy on anyone. Nobody could have seen the world looking like this six month ago. Planning for afterwards might seem like a lifeline in these troubled times but it can soon turn toxic in its own right if it becomes all consuming. If you have any plans that you would like to share, feel free to tweet me (@CharlotteGoodg2) or comment below!
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