On the 3th of February, almost a year ago, the corona crisis started in Belgium. Not much later the decision was made to initiate the first lockdown, but never did anyone expect that it would have such a great impact on our lives and economy.

That COVID-19 will go down in the history books can be said without any doubt. It started out very small. But now many people no longer see any light at the end of the tunnel.

We can no longer go out to dinner with our families and contact professions cannot continue. We can forget about a city trip with our friends, we cannot visit our loved ones. Even social contact with friends and family is limited and so I can continue to expand my list.

It affected me as a student

I am a first year student at the University College in Ghent. As for many, corona has had a great impact on my daily life as a student.

I’ve also had my ups and downs in the past year but at a certain point I reached a turning point where I decided to look at the situation in a positive way. After all, it’s easy to always see the negative and say what you’ve lost when oddly enough, you also get a lot of positivity back.

We have learned to make much more time for ourselves and our families, try out new hobbies, enjoy our daily pajama day, think more about who we love and what we are grateful for, get our cookbooks out from under the dust to rediscover our cooking skills, have found the love of sports and nature again, are happy with the smallest gesture,…

I myself have been able to draw on many of the above. The fact that I can follow my internship in person despite all the measures I take is something I am very grateful for, I have started walking more, I have found extra time for myself and I have started exercising again.

Often you have to revisit things to see the beauty and enjoy it

Angelo’s Buddy Program

Do you still need to talk? Angelo Vero has recently started his own buddy program. Here he offers a listening ear, a friend with whom you can talk about anything. But also a direct line to help if needed. So don’t just sit there with it.

These are tougher times for everyone, but try to be there for each other and remember that for every issue and every concern, however small or ‘innocent’ it may seem, you can go somewhere. Together we are strong! And don’t forget take life as it comes and stay positive!