By Natalie Son
The pandemic cut my freshman year of high school short, but I am thankful to have experienced Homecoming in the fall and Inaugural, the annual dance for University High School that is open to all students in the Spring semester. I had to complete the remaining month or so of school from my house in addition to preparing for two AP exams.
On the last day of school before Spring Break, my best friend’s father told us to gather our notebooks and school binders in case we would not return to school due to the rumors of a “coronavirus.” I followed his suggestion and could not be more thankful to have had all my school resources in a vital time.
I spent much of my time at home rekindling my painting skills, binging popular Netflix dramas, and face-timing my friends until 3 a.m. Every day began to feel like the repetition of the same series of events in some bizarre simulation. Luckily, I got to see my best friend after we completed our AP exams to go biking around her neighborhood, where I felt the appropriate disruption of such a boring routine.
I began to miss social interaction greatly, as constantly communicating through social media and text truly cannot compare to the greatness of physical interaction. This is when I had to weigh my priorities: do I satisfy my personal wants or do I stay home to protect others?
I continued to spend much of my time in my house occupying myself with learning geometry over the summer and becoming more and more of a Vampire Diaries super-fan.
The beginning of sophomore year came both quickly yet much slower than imaginable, as it was already the beginning of year 2 of 4 before every move in life will truly become crucial to future success. Sitting in front of a Zoom screen all morning and having a hefty load of work to do for school would remind me of the cyclical nature of past summer days, but in this case, I would have actual work and concentration would be necessary.
Being sent off into break-out rooms accompanied by a teacher’s motivation to “make new friends” and “not be shy” can be daunting, but I made several new friends after randomly joining one another’s breakout groups. Despite the online setting, I was shockingly still able to establish strong, genuine relationships with my teachers that will last a lifetime, as my chemistry teacher and I became quite close after conversing routinely every day after class this year.
The pandemic challenged my liking of familiarity and predictability. I learned how to adapt to such unprecedented change to make the best of a situation that would have a permanent impact on society. Although my days were indistinguishable from one another, I made time to paint, play tennis or work out, study geometry, binge Netflix, catch up on the latest news, and connect with my friends.
The pandemic year was difficult, as expected, but I adopted new interests and relationships that will remain valuable to my future life experiences. I spent time self-reflecting daily and made crucial realizations about myself and some toxic friendships that were only discovered because of quarantine.
On the last day of school before Spring Break, my best friend’s father told us to gather our notebooks and school binders in case we would not return to school due to the rumors of a “coronavirus.” I followed his suggestion and could not be more thankful to have had all my school resources in a vital time.
I spent much of my time at home rekindling my painting skills, binging popular Netflix dramas, and face-timing my friends until 3 a.m. Every day began to feel like the repetition of the same series of events in some bizarre simulation. Luckily, I got to see my best friend after we completed our AP exams to go biking around her neighborhood, where I felt the appropriate disruption of such a boring routine.
I began to miss social interaction greatly, as constantly communicating through social media and text truly cannot compare to the greatness of physical interaction. This is when I had to weigh my priorities: do I satisfy my personal wants or do I stay home to protect others?
I continued to spend much of my time in my house occupying myself with learning geometry over the summer and becoming more and more of a Vampire Diaries super-fan.
The beginning of sophomore year came both quickly yet much slower than imaginable, as it was already the beginning of year 2 of 4 before every move in life will truly become crucial to future success. Sitting in front of a Zoom screen all morning and having a hefty load of work to do for school would remind me of the cyclical nature of past summer days, but in this case, I would have actual work and concentration would be necessary.
Being sent off into break-out rooms accompanied by a teacher’s motivation to “make new friends” and “not be shy” can be daunting, but I made several new friends after randomly joining one another’s breakout groups. Despite the online setting, I was shockingly still able to establish strong, genuine relationships with my teachers that will last a lifetime, as my chemistry teacher and I became quite close after conversing routinely every day after class this year.
The pandemic challenged my liking of familiarity and predictability. I learned how to adapt to such unprecedented change to make the best of a situation that would have a permanent impact on society. Although my days were indistinguishable from one another, I made time to paint, play tennis or work out, study geometry, binge Netflix, catch up on the latest news, and connect with my friends.
The pandemic year was difficult, as expected, but I adopted new interests and relationships that will remain valuable to my future life experiences. I spent time self-reflecting daily and made crucial realizations about myself and some toxic friendships that were only discovered because of quarantine.