The Pandemic has been a very challenging and difficult time for all of us. Social Distancing measures, travel restrictions, and other lockdown have resulted in a lot of people feeling low and many having lower self-esteem than normal. 

In today’s blog, I will be sharing with you some of the different ways to stay positive and build back up our self-esteem. Nowadays, with technology, we are very fortunate when it comes to keeping in contact with one another, whether it’s with your family, friends, lecturers or even academic tutor, we can always keep in touch and stay connected through various online channels and apps.  

Here are my top tips for helping stay positive: 

• No. 1 – Messaging your friends and family i.e., WhatsApp, Messenger and WeChat.  

• No. 2 – Greet and ‘meet’ your classmates, lecturers and Academic Tutor online through video call i.e., Zoom, Google Meet, Blackboard Collaborate, Microsoft Teams, Jitsi Meet and so on – lots of online options to use which is easy to use.  

• No. 3 – Update yourself by checking social media and see things happening around societies and events organised by the University of Reading i.e., Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

  Student Services News Blog – https://blogs.reading.ac.uk/student-services-news/
  Twitter – https://twitter.com/UniRdg_Student
  Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/uor_studentlife/ 

• No. 4 – Stay tuned with the home at halls app (if you are living in halls), there are often news and events promoted, various competitions and online events. One of the favourites for many students are the “Online Escape Room” – Definitely tune in for some fun and relaxing times with friends online.  

• No. 5 – Cook a meal to reward yourself – lots of fun recipes can be found online – learn and follow YouTube to cook and make something brand new. Why not take a photo and share it on Instagram and Facebook – this way you can share your positivity with others. Little things like this can make a big difference to someone’s day.  

• No. 6 – Relax from university work – listen to music, join online events, and one of the top recommendations would be to join the Small World Café, this is an international café organised by the Reading University Christian Union. It’s a fun place to meet international students from around the world, you can join online at Small World Café Discord. 

 

I hope you have enjoyed today’s blog, and have learned something new!

Written by Pok Lim Lai (Student Voice Ambassador)