Lauren J., Incarnation Catholic School
Roller Coasters
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Theresa’s words have only gotten truer throughout time. When the pandemic hit, the smooth ride that used to be my life turned into a massive roller coaster. There were many ups and downs, sudden turns and sometimes I would even start going backwards. I would begin to look at the month before and remember the times with my friends when we didn’t worry about getting each other sick, and they felt like they were years gone. It took a while but, I realized that looking back would never get me anywhere and I learned to live in the present and look forward to the future.
It was February. I was in my favorite class and it was nearing the end of the day. Everything was great. My friends and I would joke about this virus with a crazy name, everything seemed so simple. It was no big deal to a bunch of seventh graders who didn’t know the extent of what could and would happen. It feels like a dream to think back to everything before the pandemic when we all felt “normal”.
Now, I am sitting in my classroom sitting with my friends and laughing. My teacher is standing before us trying to explain what was going to happen because my school had just announced that we would be out for 3 weeks. We didn’t take anything seriously then. We went home for the 3 weeks expecting to go back soon, but it was continuously pushed back, until we were finally told we would finish 7th grade online. It was really hard to find out, I had expected it but I still refused to believe it. In that time, I learned to not take for granted the time I had spent with my friends in the environment that I loved.
I am one of those kids who loves school, and to find out that I couldn’t go back left me heartbroken. It was hard to know that those happy moments where I laughed and smiled till my mouth hurt, were gone. It was a whole new experience to be online, and I took every chance I could get to be on Zoom and see my friends and teachers again. It took a while, but I learned that I have to take life one step at a time and to not take for granted the times I get to spend with my friends and family.
Overall, life is a roller coaster, there are always ups and downs. Dottie Yeck’s philosophy of doing good and being good results in having fun and being happy is very true, when I realized that I couldn’t change what was happening in the world, I found other ways to change my world to adapt to the new way of life. Now, I am in school amongst my peers and teachers conquering this crazy time, I am extremely blessed.
