When COVID-19 sparked the nation to shut down in March 2020, students were forced home to sit around and be with themselves. To many, this may have been nothing new, but others felt like it was the end of the world. No parties, hang out sessions or quick mall runs left people alone to face themselves for once.

Quarantine became the perfect time to self-assess. When you’ve never really took the time to sit down and know yourself, you realize it may be worth the time to do that.

A huge word that came up frequently on social media was “healing.” People began practicing meditation, yoga, studying astrology and growing plants in their homes to help find peace within themselves.

Social media influencers like Spiritual Advisor, Mani, also known as @melanatedmomma on Twitter, posted frequently on spirituality during quarantine and how to help others heal from past trauma.

Mani tweeted, “understanding and healing the 4 bodies is important. You have a spiritual, physical, mental and emotional body. They all need active healing and wellness,” on March 24, 2020. The tweet received 579 retweets and 2,714 likes.

People began to follow the words of these influencers and advisors as they shed light on different ways to better themselves. While people may have used that time to better explore themselves and unmask past trauma, the questions to consider is have people actually healed or are they just trying not to think about it?

Crystals, horoscopes, becoming more in tune with nature and taking moments to revisit triggering memories can all be effective ways to help find yourself, but the bigger picture is what you are able to do after the “big revelation” of your flaws.

After school began again, it was homework, class, work, more homework and then work again. This leaves no time for students to be able to be with themselves how they were over quarantine. The effect of a busy schedule and no days to yourself can lead to a relapse of where you first began.

Think of who you were before COVID-19. Now, think of who you were during COVID-19. Finally, think of who you are today during an ease on COVID-19 regulations.

Do you spot a difference in who you are now and who you were during quarantine? This is because you went from a fast-paced life with stress swept under the rug to working on bettering yourself. But after you were able to be reintroduced to your fast-paced life, you quickly fell back into the same sequence you tried so hard to overcome.

To be sure that you do not let yourself go, students should be encouraged to keep up with how far they’ve come since the COVID-19 outbreak.

This includes conducting daily check-ins with yourself. Before rushing out the door for class or logging in online, students should take a moment to appreciate themselves and how far they’ve come. Reciting daily affirmations and having reminders of all of the work you have put in to your growth is essential. Give yourself credit for what you’ve done so far before quickly rushing to another task to tackle.

Students should make use of the Student Health Center by scheduling appointments with a counselor to help with daily check ins and have an outlet for any stress. When students’ dorms may become too closed in, the Student Health Center also has a mediation room where students are able to better relax and focus on positive thoughts that may outweigh the negative.

COVID-19 has allowed us all to take a step back and look at our lives from the outside. Knowing what we know now, it is up to us to act accordingly, make improvements when necessary and stay consistent.

This editorial reflects the general opinion of The Spectator staff.