The Waiting Game and Ways to Stay Engaged.

Have you ever been stuck on the freeway and decided that sitting still in traffic makes no sense, so you get off at the nearest ramp and take side streets to get to your location? While it ultimately may take you the same amount of time to arrive at your destination, moving forward even with stoplights and detours may feel like your trip is more within your control than creeping along at three mph. I often tell students that the application season, which includes the notification season, can feel like that. When in the middle of writing essays and completing applications, students can see tangible progress that will lead them to their ultimate destination – college. There is a lot of talk about, “Can’t wait to be done with all of those essays and have all the college stuff behind me.” What happens once the essays and applications are submitted, however, is just like being on the freeway: students and families find themselves stuck in the middle of the college admissions journey, waiting to hear where their ultimate destination may be.

Just like being stuck on the freeway, even with good music or a sports game to listen to, feeling stuck and waiting is just hard. Re-engaging into life without college application work before COVID might have been easier with school sports, extracurricular activities, senior events kicking in. But that’s not the case this year. Students and families may need to get creative and make a concerted effort to manage the waiting game, whether it’s for a few weeks or a few months. In her article, Dr. Lisa D’Amour writes about the different types of distraction and engagement that can help frame what works and why. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions to get comfortable with the road you’re on while making the trip meaningful.

Focused Distractions

• Homecooking

• New York Public Library Virtual Open house

• SFBallet Online Nutcracker

• CalPerformances At Home

• Nobel Prize Lessons

• Best Music of 2020, NPR

• 3 Art Gallery Shows to See Right Now

• The complete guide on how to stay sane: A 13-step process

Seed Your World

• When the world feels scary, I want to garden. Here’s what to plant right now

• Seed Catalogs

• Rareseeds - Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

• How to Work Out At Home

• Nest Yoga

• The Dailey Method

• Sink into a new book and read, read, read

• Become a Runner

Volunteer

• San Francisco Chronicle -SF Homeless Project

• Community Seva

• EastOaklandCollective

• The Eater SF Guide on How to Help

• Volunteer Match Oakland

• Volunteer Match Berkeley

• Milo Foundation

• Berkeley Humane

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Have more questions or looking for more support? Email me at dane@collegeu.solutions

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