How Coronavirus affected my life?
How has the Coronavirus affected my life?
I think that being a teenager during this pandemic is very fortunate. I do not have to worry about unemployment and supposed health risks if I were to contract COVID-19. But at the same time, I know that this is not the case for everyone, even for peers within my age group. Some rely on school as a safe haven, some are stuck at home in cramped conditions, some families might be under ideal dynamics, and some may even not have shelter for themselves. Considering my circumstances, and what I have to work with, I believe that I am very fortunate to be in a safe and sound environment each day over this quarantine period.
In terms of how it has directly impacted me, other than what everyone else is dealing with, including students who are trying their best to become accustomed to online learning, I would say that my physical and mental health has taken the greatest toll. Since I am restrained at home I am not making the best decisions and I am also developing some bad habits. This includes dieting and exercise. As much as I believed that online learning would work well for me as I thought I would be more productive, it is much farther from the truth since I have not allocated space for a separate workplace. As a result, I find myself distracted often from doing my work. Nevertheless, I try my best and have not missed any assignments so far. The work is tolerable, but it is difficult to manage since the majority of classes require learning topics on your own in order to complete the work.
Another outcome of the pandemic which I did not expect is a complete change in my sleep schedule. Since we are working on our own pace, waking up at a specific time is not as important. I believe that this is unhealthy and a bad habit so I still wake up to my alarm clock, but there are days when I sleep in. When it comes to video meetings for my classes and workshops, it has been a struggle since the timing is not coordinated whatsoever. On some weeks the workload is extremely heavy and on others it is fine, but since all departments are assigning work over this period, the only rest that I got was during weekends and over the break.
Regarding what happens next, with me being a junior, there is a larger concern when it comes to college admissions. Due to the pandemic, many testing sites are closed, and as a result, a tremendous amount of students will not be able to take the SAT in the foreseeable future. Some universities have come out claiming that they will not require SAT scores because of this which adds another level of uncertainty to the process. As much as I hope that things return to normal by the next school year, it seems that there will be significant overturns to how the admissions process will play out for the class of 2021.
At times, everyone needs a little bit of isolation, but being without close friends and family for extended periods of time can be mentally draining. Admittedly, I feel like I have been taking these occasions and gatherings for granted now that the situation has become much more serious. Before COVID-19 had reached the United States, my family and I had already called those we knew overseas to check on them and see how it was going for them. People who I have not talked to in a long time were now suddenly keeping in touch. Another side of the story is with friends. I miss the person to person interaction that we once had both in and out of school. In order to follow social distancing practices, we are all more or less hunkered inside our respective homes. Staying in touch is not a question as we meet online just about every day both to maintain our friendship and to overcome boredom. These days we play multiplayer games and organize movie/show watching events to entertain ourselves.
