The day to day life of everyone went upside down for the entire spring within a mere week. Many celebrations, trips and internships were cancelled. Some of us have headed to our childhood homes while others stay in Jyväskylä. Our new quarantine like daily life is perhaps being shared with our friends, flat mates or loved ones, but many also remain alone in their studio apartments.
Every one of us has taken on an important responsibility in distancing ourselves from face to face activities. We are in fact acting not only responsibly, but heroically during this peculiar time. We are protecting those who so desperately need it.
But it doesn’t make the situation easier for any of us. Therefore, we must take care of ourselves and each other.
Life doesn’t end even though it changes. We can still enjoy funny jokes, good food and beloved hobbies AND share this with our community. We can still celebrate whenever we feel like it, and the same goes for expressing our frustration and other feelings – they are a part of living (a student) life. The methods and means of doing these just change a bit.
I trust that out of everyone, it is we the university students that figure out how to deal with everything during this odd, historical moment. Our student community is filled with wise, ingenious and thoughtful people, which is exactly what we need.
Therefore, let’s build a strong spirit of unity. Let’s share our daily moments regardless of the distance. Let’s spam each other with memes, facetime, and bring Facebook poking back. My student association even invited its members to spend time with each other in Habbo Hotel, which is a famous graphic chat and social networking site that was a huge part of many Finnish teenagers’ life about 15 years ago (talk about a blast from the past!).
The Student Union JYY also wants to enable the student community during this exceptional time period. During the spring lots of activities will be held online, and many events for the next academic year are in the works right now. When everything goes upside down, one thing remains for sure: everyone is still warmly welcome to take part any way they like.
Ira Vainikainen
Chair of the Board of JYY who likes to spend time on yoga mat and with Playstation