The countdown is on. One more week until spring break! However, it feels like the spring break weather has already set in. The sun has been shining and like other students, I have been soaking it up! The fresh spring weather could not have come at a better time because as we push through the week, the sunshine helped increase positivity and productivity. As the long-awaited break inches closer, most of us are probably overwhelmed by the countless midterms and assignments that are coming. However, let’s put most of that stress aside, and reflect on this past week.
In our English 105i class, we dove into our Unit 2 Project by narrowing down on a specific social health justice problem in North Carolina. In Tuesday’s class, Mr. B led a discussion on what the class thought were major social health problems that are evident in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and even in the United States. Most of the issues we discussed were related to mental health. It was interesting to hear how different members of our class could recognize mental health struggles within different communities and use their Unit 2 projects to address these issues and advocate change. Personally, I thought this unit project would be hard because as an out-of-state student I wasn’t the most informed on social issues within North Carolina. However, after taking part in the class discussion, I recognized that social health problems don’t recognize state lines. All parts of the US face similar social health problems, and history has shown that change is a ripple effect that can start anywhere by anyone. Keeping this in mind, we continued to conduct research on our topics and drafted an annotated bibliography which we workshopped in Thursday’s class.
Our class wasn’t the only ones having important discussions this week. The week has been full of discussions regarding mask policy, the President’s State of the Union, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The university announced that the indoor mask requirement will be lifted on Monday, and a majority of the students I have spoken to are happy that the university is allowing them to choose how often they want to wear a mask. Personally, I feel like at some point we must start taking steps to a pre-Covid life. The idea of safely moving past Covid-19 restrictions was a key part of the President’s first State of the Union address which was one of the several points in his speech that received bipartisan support. In his address, he stated, “The State of the Union is strong — because you, the American people, are strong. We are stronger today than we were a year ago. And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today” (Biden, 2022). It was humbling to see the bipartisan support for Ukraine. So many political and social influencers have voiced their support for Ukraine. Russia’s invasion has been the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. Along with the rest of the world, my thoughts and prayers are with the innocent Ukrainian people, and I hope that this issue will be resolved in the coming weeks.
It’s crazy to think how much has changed in this one week, and it really puts things into perspective. Life never stops. There will always be a midterm to stress about and projects to discuss but taking the time to reflect on the positive aspects of life is so important. Sitting in the sunlight, watching the flowers bloom, I am reminded that hope and positivity will prevail.
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Sources:
The United States Government. (2022, March 2). Remarks of president Joe Biden – state of the union address as prepared for delivery. The White House. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/03/01/remarks-of-president-joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-as-delivered/
Shutter Stock. (n.d.). Walking on Sunshine. Shutter Stock. Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/modern-calligraphy-unique-handdrawn-quote-walking-1470647204.