Written by Veronica Medrano

For those who got lucky enough, congratulations! You made it into this homeschool-but-not-really type of learning. If there is any silver lining I could attach to this, it would probably be getting away from all the smoke of Faura. Nonetheless, I would like to congratulate you, the lucky ones. The ones who had enough access to barely survive the year, constantly writing “thriving” on your foreheads.

Now, let’s talk about the next three months. It’s vacation time, people! Although it does not really scream like it, this is how we could end the year even in this circumstance.

1. Mark ‘DONE’ on your notion tasks! It has been tested and it is true. Notion is the superior productivity app that really helped us track all our requirements. Remember those days when deadlines were just endless and accomplishing one task felt like not doing anything at all? Damn that hit hard. So, go ahead, free yourself from that stress because today, we say goodbye to them.
2. Schedule your e-numan nights because these are the nights when discord won’t feel like cramming papers with your group. Share your barkada what posting a discussion reply you forgot about two minutes before the time felt like. Or that time when you lost your internet connection for a week and you were left with only two choices––go out or forget about the exam.
3. Exchange gifts but the Shopee way. Who says you cannot give gifts this Christmas time? Load your favorite randomizer and randomly choose your monito or monita. Next is listing your addresses and sending them your chosen gifts through Shopee (or any other e-commerce site that is not Shopee aka boo!).
4. Donate or even host drives because why not? This holiday season, may we not forget how to give. This year has been real tough for everyone, but even tougher for some. When we feel like we have more than enough or even we have a little to spare, let us not forget how to help.
5. Join online rallies. We are back to having so much time for ourselves and so is our time for Tiktok or Twitter. Therefore, especially in times like these, our platform means so much. Posting social issues or anything relevant to our society would not hurt the bank. Make a stand and prove that we can do something, even the littlest things.

Before doing any of the stated above, please promise me to do one thing. Breathe. You were so busy being great this semester you forgot this 7-letter word. You deserve it. You earned it. You should be so proud of yourself. Though we do not have those famous sem-ender parties right now, bro pwede pa rin naman.