May 28, 2020

We have been in quarantine for 78 days now. Throughout these days, more things have happened in the world than I can count. Everyday is completely different. That is weird to think about, however, because for the majority of us, everyday seems to be exactly the same. In response to the prompts for today; I try not to look at the news too much. In the beginning of quarantine, I looked at the stats and news a lot. But, I realized that it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to always fill my head with negatives. However, I do still know things that are happening, just not every little detail. Throughout this pandemic, I have definitely felt very alone at times. It’s strange to think that even though (almost) everyone in the world is dealing with similar circumstances, we can still manage to feel so alone. I honestly never realized until quarantine how important socialization really is. I have never been the best in social situations, but it feels weird to not be surrounded by people all the time. So, I just try to keep a positive mindset, even when it’s hard at times.

Friday May 22, 2020

Since it is nearing the end of the school year, I thought I would go ahead and submit a journal entry. Yesterday was my sister’s birthday and we ate at a restaurant for the first time in almost 3 months. It was honestly one of the most exciting things that has happened since quarantine. Speaking of quarantine, some people are highly anxious and worried about this whole pandemic, but I have been finding the good in all of this. I have used this time to focus mostly on myself. I have been focusing on growing closer to my siblings and I have been focusing on growing closer in my faith. I have also been spending a lot less time on my phone and I have been reading instead. Some books I have read and are reading are The Girl Who Dared To Think, The Unwanteds Quests: Dragon Captives, and To Kill A Mockingbird. I have also learned to enjoy what we have right now and not to take things for granted, especially friends and family because you never know when you won’t be able to touch them again. I have also reflected on my life’s past, present, and future. I also know that we shouldn’t panic about this pandemic because everything happens for a reason and there is so much good that has come out of this. This will all be over soon and we just have to get through it. That doesn’t mean that I am not missing anything either. I am missing my friends like crazy, I am also really missing swimming and hiking, and I am really missing traveling. I miss being able to drive places and listen to music as we drive in the car. That is another thing too, when we went in the car to go to the restaurant yesterday, that was the first time that we had all been in a car in a really long time. It was another thing that I had taken for granted that I really enjoy. I also desperately miss going to church in person. I am Catholic and so attending mass is something that is very special and important to me. Going to church online just isn’t the same.  

May 22, 2020

Although we are all in similar situations; stuck inside, cannot see our friends or extended family, cannot go out in public for many things, or even go to school; we are all spending our time in quarantine differently. In response to the prompts for today; I am trying to fill up my time as much as I can. Whether it’s with school, doing some sort of activity, taking a walk or bike ride, or even just relaxing and watching a show. On the one hand, this time is passing very quickly. But, on the other hand, it feels like we have been in quarantine for years. I sometimes cannot even remember what happened just a few days ago. But, like I said, I have been trying to fill my time as much as possible. I have been enjoying reading, baking, cooking, sewing, watching shows, re-decorating some things in my room, taking photos, doing the GooseChase scavenger hunt, and doing other fun school work. There are still some things that I want to do during quarantine, especially once school is out. I think one of the best ways for us to get through this time is to turn the negatives into positives. Instead of sitting around all day doing nothing and being bored, we should try new things and have fun, because we have plenty of time to do it.

May 11, 2020

As I am writing this, I am realizing that we have been out of school for exactly two months now. On the one hand, it feels like a few weeks, but on the other hand, it feels like years. In response to the prompt for today, I know that everyone is in a different situation right now, especially when it comes where they are living. Some people are out in the countryside with acres of land, while others are in an apartment building in a big city with no chance to get even a little fresh air. For me, I am right in the middle. I don’t live in an apartment in a big city, but I also don’t have acres and acres of land in the countryside. I live in a fairly big neighborhood, in a decent-sized house, with a decent-sized backyard, and plenty of opportunities to get fresh air. In that sense, I consider myself to be lucky, and I am very grateful for that. Throughout the day, I am surrounded by the noise of construction across the street, cars driving on the road next to my house, my little brother playing video games, and my dogs playing downstairs. The only site that consistently changes is the progression of the houses that are being built across the street. One of them is being worked on a lot, and it is getting closer to being done everyday. The other one hasn’t really changed for a while, and it kind of reminds me of us right now. We are all, in a way, standing still, without progression, for what seems like years. I think this virus is teaching us many things, one of which is that we are lucky to live in an area where we have access to fresh air, trails to walk, run, or bike on, and many hills and mountains that we can travel to the top of. For a long time, I think I took advantage of all of these things, but now, I will always be grateful for them.

May 7

I have no clue what week it is being quarantined so far it could be a year into it for all I know life has become pretty boring while you’re doing almost the exact same thing day after day. I thought doing school and having to look what day it was would help, but it didn’t. Me and my dad have been trying to work on stuff to pass the time but it doesn’t help, the best part so far is when we have to go into town and see all the people being paranoid and hoarding toilet paper. When I visit my mom and we go to town waiting for the pick up at the Lebanon Walmart 1 out of 3 people will walk out with a 50 to 80 inch tv. (Why do you need that big of one when in a few months there going to break) When we do have to go into stores it’s chaos the cashiers are freaking out with the cornholio virus and they will stay about 8 feet away until you are right behind the plexiglass and if you move so your not in front of it they jump back and freak out. Then there are some people that just don’t care if they get it or not.

5-4-20
Happy May the 4th, May the 4th be with you!!! Today I was thinking about how much having connections with people matters. Talking and seeing people is something that I would not normally notice the importance of. But now since, I am not talking to very many people I really miss it. Through all of the covid-19 stuff I have spent more time in nature and enjoyed more family time. I think being outside in nature helps me calm myself and stay positive about this whole situation. I like this quote that says “look at the sunny side of everything”. So even though the Covid-19 Pandemic has a lot of sad stuff there’s also a lot of benefits. I have noticed that I can spend more family time, life is a lot less rushed, school is a lot less hectic and I have more time to do my hobbies. It’s easy to focus on the bad things because it’s easier but when you look for the positive that’s what you’ll see more of. I think that this covid-19 pandemic is like a jungle. In a jungle there are lots of dangerous things but there are also beautiful things. In the time of covid-19 there are lots of scary outcomes but there are also valuable moments with ones you love.

May 4, 2020

In response to the prompts for today; 

The last time I went outside was yesterday afternoon. My family and I went on a walk around the neighborhood (social distancing, of course). It was sunny, but a bit cold. I feel lucky to live in a place where we can still go outside and go on walks.  Especially since some people cannot leave their homes at all. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I was stuck inside 24/7. There isn’t much from daily life that I have “forgotten”, but there are some things that I am looking forward to after this is all over. Some things that I vividly remember are; lots of homework, waking up early, not having much free time, etc. There are definitely some things that I do not miss from before COVID. Although, I mentioned before how I didn’t have much free time before, but now I have so much, and I am not sure if it’s better to have little free time, or way too much. Neither are ideal.

I am hearing so much news about COVID, as I am sure everyone else in the world is. I feel like it is the only thing anyone ever talks about now. We can’t escape it. The problem is, I don’t know what to believe. There is so much fake news out there, and COVID is no exception. I wish the news outlets would put more positive things into their news, instead of so much negativity. I wish they would talk more about people recovering/surviving COVID, or some acts of kindness people are contributing. But, that’s just my opinion. 

I think sharing what we are seeing/hearing can help others during this time. I think it is nice to hear about others’ experiences, and it is nice to know that you are not the only one experiencing this; it can make you feel less alone. Lately, the main thing I have been hearing is my little brother playing video games and talking to his friends through his mic; he is very loud. I also have been hearing a lot of construction because there are a lot of new houses being built around my house. 

We have been in quarantine for almost two months now, which is crazy to think about. On the one hand, it feels like this has gone by very quickly. But, on the other hand, it feels like I haven’t been to school, or really anywhere, in years. All of the days just blend together, and I sometimes cannot even remember what day it is. I haven’t even thought about what life will be like after quarantine; I just know it will be much different than before.

April 27, 2020

I think everyone would agree with me when I say that we all have things we miss and don’t miss from before the outbreak. Here are a few of mine.

I don’t miss getting up at 6:30 every morning and having to get ready for school. I don’t miss having 2+ hours of homework every night. I don’t miss having to wait on the rest of the class to be quiet; and then staying after class because of other people’s actions. I don’t miss the craziness and noise of the cafeteria at lunch. And, I don’t miss going to various events all the time; like appointments, sports practices, games on the weekends, etc.

However, I do miss having more of a structure to my day. I miss knowing everything that was going to happen that day. I miss seeing my peers and teachers everyday. I miss talking to people in real life, instead of over Zoom. I miss the time when I was going to finish out 8th grade in normal school, not over Zoom and Google Classroom. I miss the time when I wasn’t going to start high school after being out-of-school for almost 6 months. 

There are a lot of things that I miss and don’t miss from before the outbreak. But, I know this situation could be so much worse, and that we are all lucky to live in an area that has not been hit that hard. I also know that we are lucky to attend a school where we have school-provided iPads, and a staff that is doing their absolute best to create a new way of learning for us students. 

4/23/20

With the current situation we needed face masks for the family. My mom went to various stores but none were available. So she decided to buy a sewing machine to make masks for us. She watched YouTube tutorials and failed several times at first. After a week of practicing she could make one mask every 15 minutes. When she was done making masks for us she had leftover material. She shared the idea of making masks for people in her neighborhood group. She got an overwhelming amount of responses. Many people offered financial support for making the masks and offered to pay her for the masks. So my mom said, “Please don’t pay me but instead pay forward.” She suggested a non profit school called Bridgeway House. Bridgeway House serves the needs of children with autism and other related abilities by educating them and supporting their families. My brother goes to school there and he’s benefited so much from going there. We’ve seen him do better and be more successful. I help my mom in this project as well, by packaging the face masks, labeling them and writing a small note. In these times it’s important to support each other in whatever way we can. Even if that means making face masks! Stay home and stay safe everyone! 🙂

4/22/2020

My daily schedule for online school. Some times or things done may vary based on if I woke up late for the day or if I have more work than usual. 

6:50-7:00 – Around the time I get up. If I do get up before 7am, I lay in my bed waiting for the clock to turn to 7.

7:00-7:20 – Change clothes, fix bed, open curtains, wash face and fix hair. 

7:20-8:00 – Serve myself breakfast. Usually whatever my mom has prepared or sometimes cereal. I would watch T.V while eating if my mom is watching T.V as well.

8:00-8:10 – Brush teeth and use mouth rinse afterwards.

8:10-11:30 –  Go to my room, put on some music and get an early head start on google classroom work. I would usually do science work first and do everything else after. Sometimes I don’t start at 8:10, it all depends on how long I would take to get ready and how slow I would eat in the mornings. At 10 my mom would bring in a snack for me. 

11:30- 12:15 – Eat lunch and wash my dish.

12:15-12:27- Brush teeth again to get any bits out of my braces. Brush hair if messy and prepare for zoom calls. Continue to work on any school work that I hadn’t finished until zoom calls start.

12:30-1:15 – Log into zoom calls for 1st and 2nd period.

1:15-1:43 – Break time because I have no 3rd period. I would usually get myself a small snack and go outside if the weather is nice, watch YouTube  or continue to work on school work.

1:45-2:55 – login and continue zoom calls.            

2:55-3:15 – Work on any remaining google classroom work such as week long items.

3:15-3:30 – Eat snack in the kitchen.

3:30-4:50 – Finish any work that needs to be done. 

4:50-6:30 – Read a book, draw, go outside,help my mom with dinner, anything that gets me off the screen.

6:30-7:40 – Eat dinner with family.

7:40-8:00 – Get ready to go to sleep and watch the school daily announcements early.

8:00-8:55 – Get into bed and read a book. 

8:55-9:40 – Try to fall asleep.