“We can’t go back to how things were before because it didn’t work before.”

Madeline Nimmo, a 24-year-old graduate student at UW-Milwaukee, finds that reaching a normal state of living is impossible, because everything has changed so drastically. She says “normal” is impossible, so adaptation is the only option.

(Michael Null) How have you been holding up this school year so far?

(Madeline Nimmo) School has been kind of draining, honestly.

(Null) How so?

(Nimmo) Well, going from only online and being at home to just a real severe transition to all in-person, it’s like you’re not mentally ready for it, you know? You’ve been at home all year and now you have to go back to what it was before and it’s like, first of all, I’m mentally ill. I had to reframe my brain into being on work mode. It was really hard and incredibly stressful, especially since we’re still in a pandemic. It’s just really difficult. You’re not really in school mode, but more like cruise control.

(Null) You mentioned being mentally ill and that this was a ‘severe transition,’ would you say that this whole change caused anxiety for you? If so, in what ways?

(Nimmo) Yes, definitely. It’s harder to stay on top of things because I’m not in that mindset. I’m constantly forgetting about deadlines because I’m not on my computer 24-7 anymore, so I’m not constantly checking up on that stuff. I’m always worried that I’m going to fall behind or like, I’m not going to do well. The testing side is what really gets me because now that we’re back in person, I don’t get to use my notes. So I’m really worried that I’m not going to do well on exams.

(Null) Does seeing people bring you anxiety as well? We were told for so long to not really see other people for a good year and a half, and now that we finally are doing just that, how does that make you feel?

(Nimmo) Well, I’m vaccinated, so I’m not really worried and my mom is vaccinated too. Thankfully, everyone in my classes that I’ve seen has worn masks. With that said, I think moving to in-person was probably not the greatest move considering we are still in a pandemic. Even though people are getting vaccinated and are vaccinated, there’s still the chance that people can get infected and we really still need to be minimizing any risks that could arise. Even though I know that there’s people wearing masks and people are being vaccinated, there is still that risk. So I wouldn’t say it gives me anxiety, it’s more like concern. I’m concerned that the school really isn’t concerned. They just want to get back to being how it was before and not how it should be now, which involves social distancing. There’s not really a way to socially distance in classrooms that aren’t like the giant lecture halls.

(Null) Do you think we’ll ever get to ‘how it was before?’ I remember in the beginning of the year things were all about getting back to a sense of normalcy. Do you think we’re close to being back to that?

(Nimmo) No, no, we’re not. First of all, normal doesn’t exist anymore after a pandemic. That’s literally impossible because so many things have had to change and this pandemic has made us look at all the different ways we were going about things and that we were wrong, so we can’t go back to how things were before because it didn’t work before. My experimental social psychology professor, she has taught this class both online and in person, but now it’s like a hybrid course, and she’s never had to do that. That’s just an example, but we can’t go back to how things were before, because before we didn’t have the pandemic and now we do, and we have to change how things are done in order to fit that. So I don’t think our standard of normal has had to change a lot, but we’re still adjusting. So there is no ‘normal’ yet, there is just what is.

(Null) Personally, I feel like the whole standard of living has changed, so saying things should go back to normal is completely impossible at this point.

(Nimmo) Yeah, everyone’s mindset has changed since the pandemic. Before, we were so used to constantly working on doing things, whereas in an ongoing pandemic, we weren’t doing anything, so we have to reframe our entire lives around what the new normal of being at home and isolating and quarantining and social distancing actually is. That’s the new normal, not whatever we had before.

(Null) With that, do you feel like you’ve changed since the pandemic?

(Nimmo) I mean, I think I’m mostly the same, maybe a little more conscious about my own well-being. It’s not like I’m health conscious, but it’s in the form of if I’m not feeling good, I’m not just going to keep going to classes like I would have in the past. I’ve gotten colds in the past and stuff and I’m like, ‘Oh, whatever, it’s fine, I’ll just go to class.’ Now, if I’m not feeling good, I’d rather stay at home rather than risk spreading anything. I guess the best way to put it is I’m publicly health conscious.

(Null) How have things within your major changed since the pandemic? I know that you’re a psychology major, so has what you wanted to do with that changed at all?

(Nimmo) Honestly, I mean, I didn’t even intend to start that. I never intended to be a psychology major, it was supposed to be my minor. But you know, I had to switch my major and my minor around. I don’t want to be a therapist or anything. There’s a lot you can do with a psychology degree, though. I like to work with animals and there’s  things you can do with psychology in that. They go surprisingly well together. Really though, I don’t really even have a plan for the future. I am just kind of going to see where life takes me. Whatever life hands me. If I find opportunities, I’ll take some time and just see where that goes. Because I mean, if there’s anything that I learned from last year, it’s that literally anything can happen that will mess up your plans. So, I just feel like it’s better not to have a set plan because, if something comes along, that’s going to put a roadblock in the way of that. If that’s your only plan, you’re screwed. So it’s better just to like, I guess, go with the flow, but take any opportunities that arise and work around it.

(Null) Lastly, is there anything that you do for yourself to try and find that motivation for yourself?

(Nimmo) I go to therapy.

(Null) How’s that been going for you?

(Nimmo) Therapy is great.

(Null) Would you recommend that most college students should have a therapist?

(Nimmo) Oh, absolutely. I think everyone should have a therapist. You don’t even need to have a deep trauma to go to therapy. You can just go to therapy if you want because you’re going to have problems that a therapist can help you work out. I told my therapist I feel like I’m running out of stuff to tell her, But she goes, ‘No, there’s always things that you can talk about’ like my problems were running out. ‘I’m sorry, you have to wait for more trauma to arise before I can book another session.’ No, you can just go. I think it’s good to have a neutral third party to talk about your issues with. Actually, they have tools that you can use to work through, like whatever your problem may be or like if you have problems coping with your emotions, maybe the have tools for that or like just like thinking like, say, like if you if you’re constantly negative self-talk and tools for positive self-talk, you know, I hear you say everyone should have a therapist. I highly recommend it. And I’m not biased because I’m a psychology student.