Blogs

During the normal hustle and bustle of the Harvard semester, I’d find myself invited to the occasional fraternity party or for a coffee date at the adorable Blue Bottle cafe nestled between Plympton and Mount Auburn Street. A lingering sense of guilt and pressure to return to the libraries or turn up to office hours with a professor rather than relaxing by the Charles River eating strawberries was ever present. Every now and then, I’d reluctantly ask myself, “Didn’t I come here to learn?”

“When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade”, so goes the proverbial phrase meant to encourage us to make do with the hand that we are dealt by life. During a recent Netflix binge, I heard a quirky modification that I prefer: “When life gives you lemons, don’t just stop at lemonade, bake an entire lemon meringue pie too!”. I like this second version much better because it’s not just about making do, but it’s about going above and beyond to make the best out of a situation. 

The calm before the storm

Studying and working as a student in Jamaica can be described as dynamic, exciting and challenging. There are several intricacies associated with this dual role that you need to be aware of in order to successfully navigate it.

University closures across the world have left the Class of 2020 unable to celebrate their important milestones like graduation and prom in the traditional manner. While it is disappointing to cancel these in-person gatherings with friends and family, here are some ways to celebrate in a fun and meaningful way at home with the people you live with.

On 6 January 2020, I started the first day of my eight-month APPEL-accredited pharmacy placement working in a community pharmacy in Cork City in the Republic of Ireland.

This moment had been building up for the past four years, so I was both excited and nervous for the year ahead. Now I am halfway into my placement, and I still find it hard to believe how much things have changed since I started.

I am now back home in Serbia. I decided to return after the Serbian president declared a state of emergency here.

I am graduating in a couple of months. The sudden turn of events caused by the pandemic has created uncertainty about what will become of my career plans. 

As the spectre of Covid-19 casts a shadow over my career path, I am choosing to focus on the benefits it could bring. 

Reframing 

The cohort of students who, like me, are adjusting to the impact of Covid-19 are, willingly or otherwise, pedagogical pioneers. We are the first to have had to adjust, as a cohort, to digitally dominant learning styles.

One week before going back home

They’re being so overdramatic. My friends and I were supposed to go to a concert tonight, but it was cancelled at the last minute over health concerns. The first cases of the coronavirus are being detected in France, but I don’t get the big deal. My priority? To have fun while I can. Sure, the situation is rapidly evolving all across the world, but there’s no way that something that serious could also happen here, right?

11 hours before