COVID-19 Through A High School Perspective (Yes, it's completely different from the 'normal')

Normality has become strange in (almost) everyone’s lives, you may find yourself asking, when will my normal life be back? Will anything be the same? However, that is not the case for everyone. As a high school student my life hasn’t been abnormal, my life is exactly the same, minus the social interactions, of course.

I keep busy, and yes, that might look different for each person. Some people will find themselves in bed or watching Netflix all day (sometime I relax too, I’m not a robot), I am NOT that type of person. I have found myself being more productive, yes productive. How? I find myself reading, organizing, doing interviews, participating in school (virtually of course), and most importantly doing classwork and studying. This is quite rare, specially in a high school student, but I am exactly like this. Let me explain the background of why I am like this, and mostly during the COVID-19 outbreak… I have a personality and mindset that I need to stay busy, I love busy, I love being involved in multiple events, I love having things to do, and having things planned. I was made that way, lucky me!

Now, how has my life as a whole been impacted? Believe it or not, I have become more organized, and more productive. I am consistently meditating, keeping up with deadlines, and organizing, in the comfort of my home. Having to do almost everything at home has helped me a lot, more than I ever expected. I don’t have to necessarily wake up at 5 in the morning, even though it’s beautiful to do so, or go to sleep at 8 in the evening, because I have no where to be, I do not have to go through the stress of choosing an outfit or doing my hair.

While I was going through my Instagram Stories, I came across a woman that said that everyone should wake up and do the ‘normal’ things such as dressing up, and I thought but why? She stated that it is a great way to center yourself and focus as if everything were normal. I think it is absurd to have to force yourself to keep the same routine that we have had for so long, in my case for 15 years, we all need a break! Give your mind, your body a break, and break the routine, if you have the motivation to do something, you don’t have to rely on an outfit to do so, use your mindset and discipline!

I might sound like an old lady to you, as you are reading this, but all of my classmates completely agree with me on this one, life is normal for us, it is even better than before for some of us. We are able to focus, do our work better, the truth is, most of us hope for there to be a change to the educational system, and those changes being similar to what is going on right now, without the virus of course.

Of course the real struggle is financially, but aren’t we all going through that? Some worse than others, but as a community we support each other and I believe that is way more important than anything else. At my high school, we are all constantly finding ways to help each other, and if you are a high school student, or anyone in general, and you don’t feel that support, BE that support. Go out and volunteer, or even better, help our elderly and create a website for the elders to sign up to receive supplies at their doorsteps. Do something, and create a change, trust me, it feels good to do so.

Cielo Valdez Xolot

9th Grader at Empower Community High School