During the initial COVID shutdown and for the ensuing year, there was the never-before opportunity to physically slow down. This will sound strange, but bear with me: those months were some of the most enjoyable of my college experience.

This year, the Habif Health and Wellness Center at Washington University continues to strongly recommend the booster. At the same time, Washington University is loosening COVID-19 quarantine and isolation policies. 

Nonetheless, Wash. U. has the capability to support and accommodate students in this defining moment in the school’s history. There are only a few weeks left in the semester: It’s now or never.

Simply put, college kids are partying because other college kids have decided it’s okay, or are too afraid to push back when they see it happening.

For freshmen who had attended classes remotely for their first semester of college, getting a first look at campus wasn’t something done in short sleeves and T-shirts, but rather under the many layers of clothing necessary for the bitter St. Louis conditions of mid-January.

So, the Student Life Editorial Board members share their tips on how to unwind during the wellness days.

Quick, easy, painless. That is how freshman Hailey Weiss described her experience getting the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The shot was so painless that at first, she wasn’t even sure that she got it, the only thing assuring her being the sight of blood under her bandage.

That’s why we ask that the Washington University community starts this spring with an important goal in mind—to remain empathetic.

Where Christmas had previously crept up on me, always something to be anticipated around the corner, last year it came and went like another Friday. And once it went, I was left wishing that I could have a do-over.

So, thank the people who’ve helped you get to this point in the semester, the people who have accommodated you and cared for you these past few months.