SAMUEL (3rd year)

I have always struggled with anxiety and that initial pandemic period was pretty hard on me. Going back to my parent’s house I had to quarantine the first two weeks, alone in my room. All the frustration, anger, and helplessness, together with me being a quite impatient person made an explosive mix of emotions. At times I had a really short fuse.

But looking back I feel like it made me realise a few important things about life. Spending all that time alone and distanced from my friends made me realise that nobody knows what they are doing. There is no one good way to live. Maybe the best thing to do is to just try and see. You can’t be in control of everything and that is fine. Usually everything turns out okay in the end. And if it doesn’t, that is okay too.

Another thing that I learnt is to enjoy spending time by my self. So when I returned to the Hague, I actually enjoyed doing stuff on my own, like reading or binge-watching TV shows, sitting outside and watching the world pass by. The pandemic was a tough period for many but it did teach me a lot about myself. Well, it’s not like I had much choice, obviously. But I think that these two things helped me get rid of a lot of triggers in my life. Looking back at this period, I like to think I came out a better person.

(Samuel, 3rd Year, Slovakia)