You know the saying: when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has given today’s students a lapful of lemons. Chances are you’re now dealing with unanticipated challenges — and that’s on top of stresses about the health and safety of your family and your community. It’s a good guess that financial worries lead the list. When the familiar world changes suddenly, those who survive and thrive are the ones who learn to pivot and adapt. Here are some strategies for adapting — and making lemonade out of the economic crisis.

Virus or no virus, the end of the school year — with all its deadlines — is coming up fast. 
 
Chances are you're wrapping up the most challenging semester of your academic career. The many adjustments that schools have made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have closed campuses, displaced residential students, and moved face-to-face classes online. Courses are continuing for most students, but all the disruption and uncertainty are only adding to normal anxieties that come with finishing the academic year. 

You have classes, labs, homework, sports, socializing, volunteering — maybe even a job. With all that, there’s not much time for feeling listless and unmotivated, and definitely no time for getting sick. Because high school and college students have to assume more responsibility for their own schedules and personal choices, it’s important to know which of those options are most likely to pay off in a more wide awake, stronger, and healthier you. Here are some you can count on.

If you’re not a member of the college class of ’19, let those caps and gowns inspire you to plan for your own timely walk across the stage.