By: Abbi Mohan
Wake up at 7:00.a.m, be on my way to school by 8:30.a.m. Have four classes, an hour lunch where I would socialize with my friends and then get home at 3:30.p.m. After school is the time I complete homework, participate in any extracurricular activities and occasionally go to the mall. That used to be an average day in my life at the beginning of the 2020 year but all of that changed drastically mid March. I remember that last day of school before March Break when they announced the break will be extended for two extra weeks and that soon turned into a 3 month break from school. In the beginning, I was happy that I did not have to go into school, I was only required to complete three hours of work a day and some days less. I liked the idea of being able to sleep in and complete my work at any hour I wanted, there was no strict timetable.
The first thing that changed was my day to day schedule. I would start my school work at 4:00.p.m instead of 9.a.m and that really affected my work ethic. I felt like I did not have the motivation to get up and open up my textbook. I have never appreciated going to school and having a teacher there telling me to do my work until being forced to make up my own school hours. Having a teacher there constantly motivating you and telling you to get your work done is something I took for granted. My sleep schedule had changed as well. I used to wake up at 7:00.a.m everyday and go to bed by 11:30.a.m. but when COVID-19 started to spread, my sleep schedule turned into waking up at 11:00.a.m. and going to bed at 3:00.a.m. The changes to my daily schedule affected the way I ate too. At the early stages of quarantine, I would only eat two meals per day since I slept through most of the day and that caused me to not take in all the required nutrients which made me feel drained.
COVID-19 was not bad the entire time, the early stages were the most difficult, but later on it became a learning experience. Mentally covid has strengthened me and proven to me I am a lot stronger than I think I am. I was able to live in a time where our lives have been spun around and still maintain to wake up every morning. It has taught me to be more patient, understanding and to always look on the bright side. Being quarantined has given me the chance to view going to school, going out and casually being able to visit someone’s house as a privilege. Privileges that I will not take for granted.