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This is loss. What you are experiencing as your planned graduation ceremonies come and go that you have worked toward and your support systems have planned for is a type of loss. The internships and externship experiences you were excited about and the clinical hours you were both nervous and excited to experience. I am hearing it in the work the BeWell office continues to be engaged in through telehealth. There is a sense of loss, and even its stronger form of grief as you discuss what this time of chaos and uncertainty has created in your well-crafted plans for your future.
What do you do with that experience? How do you grieve the loss of what was going to be while managing the anxiety of what is? The simplest answer is one step at a time. One moment at a time. One breath at a time. But that answer is woefully inadequate. The reality is that there is no real answer. There is nothing that can bring back all that we have lost in the midst of this pandemic.
The only thing I have found that is helpful is to stay as present as you can in whatever you are experiencing and let it be. Allow those feelings of loss to be there. Allow those feelings of grief to be there. And…
Allow the moments of beauty to sustain you. The shared moment you might be having with others that would not otherwise have been with your time commitments to your respective programs. Smile with those you love. Enjoy the additional time spent with them to be both playful and serious; happy and sad; excited and anxious. All are valid.
Please know that we are thinking of you and planning as quickly as we can to ensure we can see you soon on campus, safely.
Be Well.
- Dr. Jen