Items
Tag is exactly
junior year
-
2022-05-20
Online School Problems
Having such a difficult school year before the pandemic hit, I initially couldn’t be more excited for this break from those all nighters. After getting the opportunity to recharge for a few weeks, finishing the school year was relatively easy. Summer flew by, and I soon realized that my entire junior year would be online as well. I quickly found the homogeneity to be unavoidable; I could sleep and attend school without moving more than a few feet. Each day was the same, a mechanical routine of jumping from Zoom meeting to Zoom meeting. Countless students would log into these meetings for roll call, and simply tilt the camera at the ceiling fan as they went out with friends or took a nap. It was easy to think this situation was just an obstacle to get past, another building block for the vision I had put in place for the years after high school. For me, this vision was about college, building knowledge towards my future career, and compiling a worthy resume. However, there was no reason I couldn't give value to this time period, to give meaning to each day such that they didn’t all blend together. From the daily differences in curriculum to the unique interactions of each period, I found these minute contrasts to be more significant. Realizing the importance of being mindful, even when little to no dynamic quality existed, allowed me to continue furthering my studies and interests. Looking back now, during a time when I have gotten accepted to one of the best schools I could’ve ever asked for, I think about how difficult that year and a half was for me, and how much harder the situation was for many other individuals. Again, the biggest lesson I learned was the importance of mindfulness. Whether it be a triumph or a tragedy, these life events should not be skimmed over like a mountain or trough to pass through. They are all lessons in some form, pieces of knowledge that should be taken with thought. -
2022-05-20
Online School Problems
Having such a difficult school year before the pandemic hit, I initially couldn’t be more excited for this break from those all nighters. After getting the opportunity to recharge for a few weeks, finishing the school year was relatively easy. Summer flew by, and I soon realized that my entire junior year would be online as well. I quickly found the homogeneity to be unavoidable; I could sleep and attend school without moving more than a few feet. Each day was the same, a mechanical routine of jumping from Zoom meeting to Zoom meeting. Countless students would log into these meetings for roll call, and simply tilt the camera at the ceiling fan as they went out with friends or took a nap. It was easy to think this situation was just an obstacle to get past, another building block for the vision I had put in place for the years after high school. For me, this vision was about college, building knowledge towards my future career, and compiling a worthy resume. However, there was no reason I couldn't give value to this time period, to give meaning to each day such that they didn’t all blend together. From the daily differences in curriculum to the unique interactions of each period, I found these minute contrasts to be more significant. Realizing the importance of being mindful, even when little to no dynamic quality existed, allowed me to continue furthering my studies and interests. Looking back now, during a time when I have gotten accepted to one of the best schools I could’ve ever asked for, I think about how difficult that year and a half was for me, and how much harder the situation was for many other individuals. Again, the biggest lesson I learned was the importance of mindfulness. Whether it be a triumph or a tragedy, these life events should not be skimmed over like a mountain or trough to pass through. They are all lessons in some form, pieces of knowledge that should be taken with thought. -
2022-04-28
My Covid-19 Story
reflection paper on how covid impacted life, religion, gender, power through my eyes and point of view. -
2022-02
Ripple Affect from COVID 19
My personal experience with COVID 19 -
2020-03-13
The Banquet
It was my junior year of high school and a Thursday night in March at DePaul College Prep. My bowling team boys and girls had gathered for our annual end of season banquet, a last hurrah. We had fun; ate pizza together, talked about memories made during the season and more. At the end we started to talk about how 50 kids had called out of school that day not including teachers and how crazy the flu was this year. It wasn't the flu, but we didn't know that it would be our last time at school for the year and seeing each other in general. My boyfriend who played baseball was talking to the bowling and baseball coach about the Nashville trip the team was going take over spring break the next week, the coach said it might get cancelled. This was due to the way COVID was effecting it people down there, we laughed it off and said whatever its just the flu, it wasn't the flu. He got the email it was cancelled that night and the following night we got the email school was shutting down for an extra week after spring break. Yay we said "an extra week of break" but it wasn't just a week its months and still going. -
2020-09-29
Our New Normal
I think the biggest challenge I have faced because of Covid-19 is coping with the fact that this is how life is going to be for a long time.. Personally I don’t like the unknowns. We don't necessarily know when we'll go back to school or when well be able to play sports games. My family has always been very active and loved to go out and do things, so it has been different to just stay home all of the time. Luckily we have gone on some short day trips to the beach or to different restaurants but to be honest things are just not the same. Sometimes I find myself thinking what I’d be doing at that exact moment if Covid-19 wasn't a thing. Last Friday I was driving to my moms house around 6pm and I realized that if Covid wasn't a thing that I would be in the Cal parking lot tailgating for a football game. These are the type of things that unfortunately us as Juniors haven't really experienced yet and I don’t think we will be able to this year. Hopefully things will start to return to normal soon so we can finish our High School experiences the right way. -
2020-12-17
Quarantine Glow-Ups
During Covid-19 I realized that most of the time I do things for other people and not myself. I think it’s because since we stayed at home all the time and I had to stop doing things for other people anyway. During the school year when we actually went to school, I was always really passive and would let people walk over me with things like projects and I would have to do all the work. But then during those couple of weeks when quarantine started and we didn’t have school for a month, I took a lot of time actually taking care of myself since I never had time for self-care during the school year. I think I gained some confidence. I feel like now I don’t really let people make me do all the work anymore and it feels good. Sometimes it is hard though because in one of my classes I’m one of the only juniors and the seniors are scary. Other than having a glow-up during quarantine, my friends and I discovered ways to hang out with each other since we can't go outside. We played a lot of games, like Among Us and Genshin Impact, and they are really fun when you’re playing with friends. I always used to think that I was an introvert (still true) and I didn't need friends, but during quarantine, I learned that I just needed a couple of great friends. -
2020-05-31
Quarantine experience as a student
Right now, things have been tiring. With all the chaos and protests going on, it's really hard to just think about schoolwork. I hope that things will eventually end soon (happily) and I hope that all the protesters get out safely. Because our people is so fed up, the pandemic doesn't even faze us anymore. What happened to George Floyd was despicable and people are done waiting. As for staying at home, the only thing that bothers me is the absence of my teachers. My friends are cool but social media exists for a reason, I'd be lying if I said I missed my friends. -
2020-05-31T10:34
My Junior Year Was Ruined
On March 13, 2020, a sudden news that changed humanity itself. After school we received an email about students not being able to go to public school, switching over to remote learning. In an archive by Sophie Ferrara, she elaborates on the pros and cons of the COVID-19 pandemic. She explains how there are many restrictions in preventing the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing, wearing face masks, and forcing stay-at-home orders. But she realizes that she has the opportunity to spare some time with her family and to have time to look at her dream colleges and research them. In another submission that I least resonated with was where there were many complaints about the class of 2020 in all school levels that are moving on are upset that they are going to miss graduation. In reality, that really doesn't matter to me because I still have one year left and it could possibly be different next year on my senior year, it may sound ignorant but it is the truth and if it were to still continue where I can't surpass to my senior year then, yes it will change my perspective of it. The shift from physical school to online school has made an impact in my Junior year, it has changed the way I am able to learn to make it difficult to understand the work when there is no one there to help me physically. It has ruined the way I can communicate with people, making it difficult to speak after isolated for so long at home. I miss being with my friends not being to create more memories with them and not being to make more inside jokes and making each other laugh at the most random things. And finally, my swim season being canceled, not being able to make it league finals and CIF, missing the feeling of being relaxed in the water, missing my second home and family, miss hearing the beep on the start and diving in. In general, I miss being in my classes, waking up at 4 in the morning to prepare myself for practice, and the entire school day. I miss seeing the smile on my teacher's faces every day (Hi Mrs. Jue I miss you) and miss seeing staff smile every day as well. But I pray that all of this ends and we can have the opportunity to go back and have the normal lives we had before receiving that email on March 13th, I want all of us to be happy and continue living their normal lives. Stay safe and wash your hands. xoxo -
2020-05-30
Stuck At Home
Like many others, quarantine has dramatically shifted everyday lives from enjoying the virtues of going out to having to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus. Personally, I am very anxious and tired of having to stay at home every single day, hoping that everything returns to normal so I can go out with my friends and go to school. But, I realized during the early stages of quarantine, that I should be contributing to help keep out country safe by staying at home. Everyday I am saddened that many of the hobbies and everyday activities I used to enjoy are now unreachable. Many things that I anticipated such as my sport's season, getting my driver's license (my behind the wheel appointment was cancelled), and spending time with friends have been taken away from me. However, there are many of those who do not think the same as me, and find themselves going out leisurely without a care for what is going on. Many of these people believe that this virus is a myth, and if not they are people who are selfish and only care for their own pleasure. This meme I attached to this story is a great depiction of what is going on; people are continuing to go out even though there are plenty reasons they should not be. With people continuously going out for unjustifiable reasons, the virus will never seize to spread. Everyone's lives are affected by this virus, whether it be families witnessing loved ones dying, being unable to pay off bills and rent due to the loss or discontinuation of jobs, and children, who should be going to school and experiencing life, having to be stuck at home. People need to realize that this situation does not revolve around solely themselves and understand that their actions will only result in delaying the process of flattening the corona virus case curve. -
2020-05-31
online schooling
A short clip of what I did during quarantine. Essentially, as we were put in quarantine, it didn't affect me much besides the fact that AP testing were still continued which had caused an uproar on all social media platforms. Furthermore, my quarantine life was spent 12 hours a day on some sort of device; whether it be my phone, laptop, or the switch. Everyone expected 2020 to be the year of an adventure of a lifetime, symbolizing growth into adulthood as us juniors looked forward to opportunities and moving forward in life. The reality is far from just not being able to go to school. We can't go anywhere in fear of contamination and while the world feels like it's on pause, it's not. It is sad to think about the what if's and what could've been but this is how it has to be. This experience has truly humbled a lot of people I know to live out their lives as well as teaching us about hardships and having to say goodbye. -
2020-05-31
Junior Year-Piece of Cake
With rising cases of corona virus around the world, school began to shut down and students shifted their learning to at home. Junior year was suppose to be the hardest year of high school, but instead it turned out to be the easiest school year. Even with 4 AP classes, the workload was significantly less. And for the first 2 weeks of online learning, I remember feeling blessed as most of teachers did not assign any work. Homework used to take me 2-3 hours, but now less than an hour. Some days I don't even do homework since my teachers give us multiple days for one assignment. The class that gave a lot of work was though was APUSH. With online schooling, I also got to sleep in more and play games and watch TV/netflix. I barely stepped outside the house too. AP testing was also cut down to 45 minutes instead of the usual 2-3 hours. Although there were many pros to online schooling, there were also cons. As days went by, it just felt redundant and most of all boring. Some days I wish I was actually at school. I haven't seen my friends in month and it gets tiring to just stay at home. Sadly, grades for second semester is pass and fail so although I have As in my AP classes, it won't count towards my GPA. -
2020-05-30
AP Tests
All year my classmates and I have studied and worked in order to ace the AP tests. However due to quarantine we were unable to take the normal AP tests and had to take the online version. One year of work was graded with 1-2 essay(s) which is completely unfair. Due to the essays covering only a small portion of the year my classmates and I were annoyed. During the actual tests there were different prompts, all varying in difficulty, which is unfair. Many people often had trouble with the whole experience and there are several classmates that have to retake the test. The AP tests this year was a doozy yet I’m glad it is over. Hopefully a vaccine comes out soon and this pandemic ends because the future looks so hopeless.