we can all make a difference.
Sitting at home, one might stumble upon the convenient notion of helplessness, taking no notice of the potential for change in each and every one of us. During this time, positivity is a treasure, and being able to share our stories can unite us to defeat COVID-19, together.
our stories
Nothing in this life is simple or one-sided: of course, the same can be said for even a global pandemic. As many of us are aware, there will be pain and suffering, but where there is a widespread difficulty, it is up to us to unite, as humanity, to grow and get past it. During this quarantine, I've been able to re-examine how I'm spending my time, and build a more healthy lifestyle. I've been working out, eating healthier, sleeping more, and making time for myself, as opposed to enduring the burn as I chased my speeding train of a schedule. I also picked up baking, as if I don't have an influx of sugar in the house anyways. I've been able to make time to make music, build websites, and write. I picnic in my backyard, listen to music and watch Netflix on days I decide to relax (for pretty much the first time ever...I know, it's unbelievable, so send me good show recommendations). I've been able to get back to dancing when I can, and singing all the time, simply because I'm at home for most of the day. Listening to the news, I've realized that everyone, no matter in how miniscule of a manner, can have an impact on the current pandemic, which led me to create Defeating COVID-19.
Climbing the hill may be difficult, but we can together, and the view from the summit is the ultimate reward: we can unite, share our stories and positivity, and get over this pandemic.
anusri saraf, bay area
Surprisingly, I adapted quite well to the pandemic. It reminded me a lot of my childhood and wasn't hard for me to adjust to get a new, safe routine in place of my old one. With or without school, I’ve been taught that it’s always best to keep your mind sharp, focused, and developed. I've been making capable use of my time indoors by understanding new things, keeping my body physically and mentally active, and making apt use of the internet's resources. Some accomplishments I'm proud of highlighting include: a new job; starting a blog; making new, meaningful connections; and better understanding the world around me. Throughout this crisis, I established a deeper relationship with my friends; we all shared a common struggle but found strength in unity.
This was the perfect opportunity, as a freshman in high school, to reflect on me and figure out what my next couple of years in life would be. Although I’ve gone through various tragedies, including the death of my dog, the key thing I learned was to have a positive outlook and continue to remain a beacon of hope for those suffering through tragedy and depression.
2020 has been an unfortunate year, but that will not prevent 2021 from repeating the same tragedy. I believe that with the right attitude and treatment, the world we return to will not be the same, but rather a wake-up call to remain proactive and forge the opportunities ahead of us that will shape our future.
matt prado, bay area
As a senior graduating high school, going off to college, and just beginning to understand life, COVID has been surprisingly difficult, yet interesting to live through. While I found it hard to keep up with the sudden barrage of assignments during lockdown, it was primarily due to the lack of focus I had (because come on, you're at home all the time, you're not going to do schoolwork for eight hours a day). Yet that lack of focus brought along new things and an influx of time, which though not spent on school, enabled me to explore my hobbies significantly more. I was able to make more music than I was able to before, I was able to develop the most advanced version of Jade, my AI chatbot, and I was able to spend some time taking pictures of local things, walking around my neighborhood for once. Though I've missed out on a lot of opportunities in my social, academic, and professional life because of the pandemic, I won't be one to say that the time I've spent at home wasn't productive or interesting; quite the oppositeand I hope everyone else out there feels that way too. It's tough times, for sure, but we'll all get through it; if not somehow, then sometime.
jess fan, bay area
I've been doing pretty well. I've been doing some things that I didn't always have time for before. For example, I've been baking, spending more time with family, walking my dog more, and doing some crafts. I've also been using the time to study for my SAT and tutor people in math. It's also given me some extra time to take care of myself: I've been doing home-workouts, eating healthier, and sleeping more. Like everything in life, COVID-19 has had some positive and negative effects for me. On the positive side, it's given me some extra free time and given me a little break from a busy schedule. Some of the negative effects include not being able to go to school in person, losing in-person contact with others, and canceling some events I was looking forward to. I'm starting to get bored of staying home, and I'm especially sad that my last year of high school won't be in-person. I miss seeing my friends and teachers at school, and just getting out of the house more. But, even though I missed out on some opportunities, I've still been staying optimistic about the future. We're all in the same boat, and we'll all get through this together.
saara, bay area
I've been trying to keep myself together, although, admittedly, with the combined stress of upcoming exams like SATs, pressure from knowing i'm going to college in two years, and generally not being able to see the people who made me happy every day at school, it's been hard. Having obligations that force me to keep going, like classes, helps get me up in the morning. It's definitely been hard to keep up a healthy lifestyle in quarantine, but hopefully, it will be worth it. I've picked up some old hobbies like dancing, guitar, and singing, and I'm relearning them since I have time anyways, I'm just trying to make sure I don't spend too much time relaxing nor do I work myself until I burn out. Balance is key! And also masks.
daphne yan, bay area
In the past few months I've worked to cofound Break The Outbreak, a nonprofit organization that helps combat the pandemic. Besides this, the pandemic has had a great effect on my life as a whole. I am an avid runner and am on the Cross Country and Track and Field team at my high school. Having my season and practice cancelled had a large effect on my schedule and what I did as a hobby. However, this allowed me to focus on my individual fitness and spend more time on my sport because of no school. Losing face to face contact with many of my friends was very difficult and using zoom to keep in tough was a significant downgrade and something I am still get used to. Overall, I am grateful to be in a position where the pandemic and lockdown did not really affect me or my family in a severely negative way. Still, 2021 could not come fast enough.
tanish kumar , bay area
I have spent a lot of time helping the community combat COVID-19 this summer, I founded and operate a 501c(3) nonprofit organizations by producing and donating PPE, Hand Santizer, Care packages to small businesses, food industry, hospital, care facility. We have over 37 chapters across 15 states now. And we got featured on many news media. And I am proud to say, some of those curves are being flattened by us. (breaktheoutbreak.org)
Besides that, I have been watching a lot of TV shows, and played some games. Went out in nature and enjoyed the sunshine.
I also joined COPE(Community outbreak preparedness education), where we educate people on mental health, outbreak preparedness, Intersectional public health advocacy (racism, public health, etc.).
sky yang, dublin
Things have been going at a solid neutral ever since this pandemic started. Thankfully my family and I haven’t been financially impacted and life is similar to how it was before, just without any of us traveling more than necessary. It’s unfortunate that all of the spring sports were cut off before the season could get going but I understand why. I’ve had more time to myself, and theoretically this means I can get things done but all that’s happened is I’ve gotten much better at procrastinating. This is in part because I no longer have a normal schedule but mostly because I no longer have any comprehension of days, weeks, or time. Deadlines and appointments drive most of my actions.
elizabeth, california
So far COVID has been an impact on me physically, but mostly mentally. At the very beginning of quarantine I had an extremely difficult time trying to control my restlessness and anxiety. I had some days were I was very mentally unstable and unhappy. However, I spent a great deal of time reading and listening to music which really helped me get through the tough times! After quarantine was lifted, I was able to go out and see my friends again and have fun with them, even if it was 6 feet apart. :)
oviya m, livermore
I’ve been staying home since mid-March. I went to a social distanced graduation with up to 20 people and masks on. Because of the virus, I’m staying home for my fall quarter of college and probably the rest of the year too since all my classes are remote. It’s been tough missing the rest of senior year and the start of college, and not seeing my friends but it’s also made me a lot more grateful over regular things.
mandy xu, california
I'm extremely grateful that I now have time to pursue my dreams - my burning, hot, zesty, spicy, fiery, passion for Gordon Ramsey. I am determined to finish every season of hell's kitchen before I step one foot outside my house again. I'm currently on season 7, almost half way there. Wish me luck and wear your MASK fools.
henry, bay area
i spend at least an hour a day browsing shoobs on facebook.
vihan bhargava, bay area
I have: built my own plex cloud server, updated all my classes for 2020/21, built a new desk, produced an online summer camp, wrote a duet piece for piano, and got into lots of trouble! I mostly enjoyed the connection, conversations and troublemaking between the students I serve, the teams I work with and my friends.
irvin lemus, bay area
I’ve been doing good. I’ve been planning and researching what I wanna do in the future once COVID ends and working on stuff for school before college starts. COVID has made me unable to attend in-person classes and extracurricular activities in college.
james wu, livermore
I haven't been affected by COVID myself, but the family of my relative fell ill. Fortunately enough, none of them suffered serious consequences
spektrum, ukraine
I've been doing pretty well these days. Although I’ve been quite busy each day, I still try to find the time to read books as I know I'll be too busy later on once school starts. I try to view this quarantine to be a self-healing experience where I have more time to start new hobbies and reflect on myself, especially with less interaction with others.
clarissa, california
What I’ve been up to: Nothing much. Just waiting around for college to start, while grinding chemistry. In my free time, I grind valorant trying to climb to Platinum. I also recently started doing more cyber security things like CTF.
kevin z, california
I've been ok, though I'm definitely not getting enough sleep. I've just been at home doing review and going on walks occasionally, taking pictures and then spending way too much time photoshopping lol.
jenny, usa
I haven't been doing anything too fun, but I found an internship program that I got through a connection, and that's honestly all I've been doing aside from working out.
salah, earth
I've been doing great! I spend my time playing Minecraft and making brownies for myself and my little sister, even though it has actually gotten me injured, haha.
daddyadi101, earth
I've been doing fine, I've been learning tricks on my rollerblades and I've been writing (Well, staring at a blank screen and calling it writing).
cara, bay area
Mostly working out and playing video games, have been connecting with friends on discord though.
cheezyBread, bay area
I got an internship! It’s been tough, but I’m very grateful that I got this opportunity ^-^
jade, usa
I've been doing fine, mostly staying inside and playing games.