By Nazanin Zargaran, Gustavson external relations co-op student
When I got my acceptance letter from University of Victoria’s Master of Global Business program last year, many people told me “don’t miss out on spring in Victoria. Check out the blossoms at Butchart Gardens, around the city and at the university.” As everyone who knows me knows, my favourite season is spring and my favourite book is Anne of Green Gables. When I read the description of spring from this book, it made me fall in love with Canada and spring. I came to Canada and experienced the fall and winter seasons in Victoria, which also made me love autumn. However, I couldn’t be in Victoria last year to feel the spring because my MGB journey had started. I went to Scotland and had a great experience, but I knew that I was missing out on spring in Victoria.
I made up my mind to enjoy the time traveling with my MGB studies and find a co-op next year in Victoria. With my coursework completed, I had the chance to find a co-op at the University of Victoria and return to the city to make my wish come true. The path was great. I was learning about blog writing and Hootsuite at my job and waiting impatiently for spring to come. My path was planned until summer and graduation. I was happy for June convocation to come because I would have been able to see my friends and classmates after a long time of being in different locations for our co-ops. My friend and I used to talk about what the convocation day might look like for us. Inviting our families was one of the wishes that we had, so we could show our new home, life and friends to our parents.
In one morning in the early days of spring, all those wishes faded and stress and anxiety for the future replaced them. The news outlets and government officials were talking about a pandemic across the world and our lives were to be disrupted severely, be it workflows, online classes, job hunts, social commitments or even our mental and emotional well-being. I felt disappointed as my path needed to change. Work and personal plans were canceled and we’ve had to stay at home to be safe. Adjusting to this new life took time because it all came with an unknown future.
My quarantine experience has been that time moves slowly, and makes the days vague for me, even though I know many people around the world are in the same situation. However, finishing my co-op semester and my Master degree while I am at home, knowing I won’t be able to say a proper thank you and good bye to all my colleagues, professors and MGB faculty drags me down. Being uncertain about what is coming next in my future as a newly graduated student in a difficult time for countries and the economy has traumatized me.
This situation has affected everyone differently and each person has dealt with it in their own way. As life moves forward as usual, I am thinking it is okay to be stressed or anxious because we are all in the same boat. I allow myself to have calm time just listening to music or reading my favourite book even though I know I might miss out on many things outdoors. I hope life will give me another chance to recover everything I’m missing out on now as I worked hard to be here. Indeed, with hardship there is relief that the future will be brighter, and good things are coming.
Photo: Focal Photography
