0
0
Inspired by the VOX feature, Journalism 1 students reflected on their own experiences since March 13th, 2020.
“ Prepare to come to terms with people wanting to leave you or leaving you in general. Over the next year people will constantly be leaving, either by choice or against their wishes. People will leave due to covid, college, disappointment and depression. Don’t get me wrong, some people do not physically leave me, but mentally, which might be worse. You will have to sit back and endure lost friendships, relationships, and family members. It isn’t as bad for you as it is for them, so be grateful for that. The idea of college will excite you for a bit in the beginning of your senior year. However, towards the end you will feel a great sense of burn out. Do not put so much pressure on trying to figure out who you are or what your “brand” is. Instead, admire the people around you who know who they are. Never lose kindness even though you will constantly be used as a doormat. Like my dad always says, “ A good deed never goes unpunished.” Experiencing these emotions will make you feel like everyday is a gloomy day, never a sliver of sunshine in sight. However you will come out on top.”
– Leah Logan ( senior)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I would tell my pre covid self to enjoy life and take things for granted because we all should because your life might be better than the person next to you. I would also tell myself that u need to do things and get your own self motivation to get up and go do things like work and do good and school and that translate to the football field as well. These are some of the many reasons I have Because before all this nonsense with covid and everything life was good u felt like u were at the top and no one can stop you. As you were playing your sport or doing good in school and doing things that you could do before covid you felt safe/ok and you felt like nothing was letting you back up. You didn’t have anyone or anything telling you what you can and can’t do besides your parents but that’s a different story. You were looking forward to the school year and your sport and you were ready for another year of the same old same old but with different outcomes, but the outcome that we got was a different story. There u were standing at the top feeling like no one could touch u and now everything is different covid-19 happened. Now you are at the bottom u lose going to school now u have to do school online, no more eating out, no more sports, no more anything just u and your family cooped up inside for a long long long time, till u hear that things are better. But now you have that sense of uncertainty in life because of this pandemic and you don’t know what is going to happen. So what would I tell myself I would say when u get knocked down by any obstacle in life its about how u get up and face it.
Luke Hilyard – 10th grade
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I’d say to myself: To be patient and to find some new hobbies to keep myself entertained. Your dad will lose his job to covid and will be job hunting most of the quarantine, but he will find a good job near the end and to not stress out about it, just spend a lot of time with him because his job will send him away for weeks. Be ready to talk to grandma a lot to help her cope with the loss of her husband. You visiting and calling her keeps her happy and healthy. Don’t just focus on others though, make sure you give enough time to yourself and focus on your own well-being. Lastly, make sure you try to pay attention more to online classes. It will be very boring but it’s important to pay attention. My quarantine will be very boring but if you look at it positively it means you get a lot more time to do fun things.
Luc Gilchrist- 10th Grade
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If I could tell myself one thing before covid hit, it would be to take advantage of what I have. At the beginning of covid, I thought, hey, schools off for the rest of the year. I thought that was nice, but I didn’t know that it would last this long. Yes, quarantine was weird, but overall I thought it was great. I got to stay home and hangout with my family all day with nothing to worry about. I wish that I could’ve taken advantage of the year more. I know it is weird to say this, but I would not mind going back to the beginning of covid. I didn’t have to work, no school, and got to see the people I love all day everyday. Along with that everyone was playing video games, and it was also fun to have 5, 6, 7 people on xbox playing all night. A lot of people will say that they had a not so fun experience with quarantine, but I think that I got to make the most of it. –
Mason Donovan (Senior)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sooooo all I can really say is that you are in for a long year! You are not going to believe this, but when you and your family are stuck in a house together for months without being able to leave, things will get crazy. But to be honest, it wasn’t as bad as everyone thought it would be. Yes I know that staying in quarantine and having to wear a mask isn’t that great, but what really matters is that you began to figure out your true self. Who are your real friends? Who will be there when you need them the most? But most importantly, how can you be there for yourself, and learn to love and embrace who you are? Even though you are going to be stressed from learning at home and not being able to see your friends as much as usual, you will learn how to self love and reflect on yourself.
Sofia Galati – Freshman
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
There’s a number of things i would like to tell my pre covid self, but there are few that i believe would have been useful. Looking back on how much i have grown in the past year, it is pretty clear what caused me to change: the struggles. Like many others, I have had a lot of time with myself due to the pandemic. It brought me to see myself, my habits, and my general thought process much clearer. More specifically, the flaws in my mindset. I believe that everything that has happened during covid has shaped my personality and state of mind to be what it is now. To my pre covid self, simply just “let it happen”.
-Maryn Ronk – freshman
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“You wont believe me when I say this, but In a year’s time you will be sitting in a classroom with a face mask on, while the whole world around you does the same thing. I know right now your life isn’t the best, but it gets worse and better at the same time. Unfortunately, you will see the true color come out of some people. You will see that people turn out to be fake friends, liars, and just bad people. You will meet great people I promise you. As for why you have to wear a facemask, you’ll find out in a couple of months. It’s hard at the start of it, because it’s so new and scary to you, but you’ll get used to being isolated and alone. Just take every moment of normal life with gratitude, because life gets so much more messy.”
–Dylan Teale, 10th Grade
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear past me,
Last January, you wrote to future me and basically said, “things are going insane worldwide and I’m scared but I think I’ll get through it.” I’m here to tell you that you have absolutely no idea what you are in for. You have every right in the world to be afraid; January 2020 was definitely a foreshadowing how the rest of the year was going to go. Since the time you wrote that poem, you’ve faced a year and five months of relentless questions.
Who am I?
What horrible thing happened now?
Where did that happen?
Who am I?
When did this start? When will it end?
How can I help?
Who am I?
Just why?
Who am I?
You will question the world, those around you, and how to be known and loved as yourself. I do not have an answer for those questions but I hope I can give you some solace: There were good things that happened to you even if some of these may seem trivial. You will reconnect with multiple old friends. You’ll finally finish Pokémon Diamond and also restart Shield and Conquest under a new name. You’ll find a new favorite book series and TV show. You are going to spend your summer walking instead of swimming which will be an interesting change of pace. And you will survive. The best advice I can give you is to fly with the punches because the punches will not stop coming. The world will spin around without a care given for you, but you will have a care for the state of the world.
I may write to you again sometime but until then, endure, my love, endure.
–N Hardiman, 11th grade
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“I would tell myself pre-pandemic that you need to prepare yourself to lose some of your closest friends but then go on to find new friends. You have to realize who is meant to be in your life and who isn’t. You will have to make one of the hardest decisions in your life. Don’t rush anything. Don’t push yourself to be someone you aren’t because if you do you will lose yourself in the long run. Be careful with the decisions you make when it comes to friendships. You will regret losing some people. You will try to fit in and sometimes it is just better not to fit in. Your family will continue to stay close but things will get rough. Be honest with yourself and with other people. Learn to talk to others when you need to, they will help tremendously. You are going to find out that you will need to seek help through someone who isn’t a friend or family member and let it happen. Don’t let go of the ones who are there for you the most, it’s not worth the way it makes you feel. You will also learn that you love to read and write and keep that close. Always remember that you are loved and not alone. Just keep your head up and keep everyone close.”
-Bailee Rapp (Freshman)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
One thing that I would tell my pre-Covid self is that you have to get ready to think completely differently, I would say that your view on school and relationships will drastically change. School is going to be challenging especially because you’re only gonna be in school for about 4 months. Just wake up every day and deal with your problems as they come.
Sophomore Steele Selders
I think I would tell myself to be prepared to have no control over your life. Since the beginning of covid I have had so many plans / events cancelled / postponed over and over. I’d also tell myself to take opportunities when you have the chance, I feel as if I’ve missed out on so much just for being anxious or not open to trying a new opportunity. You will also go from being excited to socially isolated for over a year and are expected to keep human physical contact at a minimum. School and work are stressful and on top of that your going to have to wear a cloth on your face all day; crazy stuff I know right.
Jon Belloti – Junior (with Core News Values party platter!)
To read an international view of this topic, visit the VOX feature
