A Sense of Belonging

It’s nearly 1pm, and I’ve already made breakfast, lunch, and snacks, changed multiple diapers, made homemade ice cream, and took an hour walk around my community, stopping at several playgrounds along the way.
I was supposed to go to the gym and work on some assignments early this morning, but the Sirs crawled into bed with us last night and I couldn’t get myself to escape the cuddles. But now I'm behind on where I wanted to be for this week. It's currently "quiet time" in my house and I can finally try to do some catching up.

I feel tired, stressed, and overwhelmed. This isn’t news to anyone; I’ve been very vocal about my lack of motivation and frustration this semester.

This semester has been a little different. Four of us are separated from our cohort because we’ve already met the requirements for this semester and needed alternative electives.
It kind of feels isolating being separated from this group of people who share similar experiences and challenges related to our program.

Luckily, our cohort has a GroupMe (one of our tools from this week!), and it’s in this space where I can reconnect with my classmates. I love having this place where we can vent, celebrate achievements, or reach out for peer support. Through this group, I have also made individual connections and learned about my classmates on a more personal level.

Do any of you use GroupMe with others in your program? WhatsApp? Are you like me and feel grateful for the sense of community, or do you find it overwhelming and challenging to navigate a messaging group with several people? I'd love to hear!