We here at the Old Gold & Black sincerely hope you enjoyed all 24 hours of your spring break earlier this week. If there’s one thing that’s certain, it is that we could all use a few moments to decompress. Life seems to be moving at an ever-increasing pace around Wake Forest these days — if you feel like assignments and obligations are stacking up, know you are not alone.

It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of all that is happening in our community these days, which makes it all the more important to set time aside for yourself each day and keep things in perspective. With some midterms already underway and others lurking just around the corner, stress levels appear to be mounting across campus.

As stressors pile up and the nights of studying grow longer, we encourage you all to watch out for your fellow Demon Deacons. Check up on your friends, close the textbooks for a while and enjoy the North Carolina sunshine.

Most importantly, cut yourself a break every once in a while. There are no established guidelines on how to deal with the fallout from a global pandemic — however you’ve chosen to cope with this bizarre reality is just fine (so long as it does not endanger yourself or anyone else!). You’re doing great, and you’re right where you’re supposed to be.

Now is also a time for hope. Coronavirus case numbers have stabilized following the outbreak earlier this semester, and positive news about vaccine distribution seems to emerge every day. Just this week, Governor Cooper announced that Group 3 essential workers would be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This is incredible news that impacts staff, faculty members and even a number of student workers. There’s light at the end of the tunnel, and humanity has finally begun to link arms and march toward it.

Freshman and sophomore students have yet to experience all that Wake Forest has to offer come springtime, so as the weather warms and semblances of normalcy slowly return, let us take the time to be appreciative. To be appreciative of our peers who have weathered this storm alongside us, who have celebrated the ups and downs of a college-experience to which no other generation will be able to relate. To be appreciative of our faculty, whose support and commitment to our endeavors has remained constant from the time we first moved online. To be appreciative of the staff and administrators who have worked tirelessly to ensure not only our safety, but also that the best is made out of a less-than-ideal situation. To be appreciative of the moment, which will come and go before we know it.