COVID-19, according to the World Health Organization, as of 2022 has affected millions of lives. It’s a disease that swept the world into a trainwreck since the early months of 2020. That was an eventful year, riddled with protests, terrorist attacks, and students deprived of the ability to learn. It was a year that just so happened to be my last year attending Blackstock Junior High School. 

With my educational year cut short, I was required to attend online classes. I attended online classes all the way up to my freshman year at Channel Islands High School. These classes were about 2-4 hours in total and consisted of quick study sessions, anonymous students paired with silent mics, and the daily use of Peardeck in order to get students to participate. 

Although many teachers were trying their hardest to make students comfortable with this new agenda, many succumbed to the pressures of working at home. One teacher that stood out amongst all of the teachers I had during my freshman year was Ms. Adelina Lopez. She teaches Math 1 and goes above and beyond for her students. She would often schedule private meetings with students, like myself, where she would further explain topics they were struggling with, or provide them with advice that would make it easier for them to complete their assignments. She stated that “education is the key to being successful.” 

Being that students weren’t in their normal environment (classrooms) when attending class, success wasn’t in the future for many students, and many fell behind. I was one of those students. There would be times when I would fall asleep in class and be the last one left behind in Google Meet; sometimes even without the teacher! Tests weren’t a stressful topic to look forward to anymore, because apps like PhotoMath, Quizlet, and Socratic became our new cheat sheets. I was losing my focus, and so were many other students.

I went into my sophomore year afraid of what was to become of myself. At first, I was hopeful and excited about the new change, but that soon began to sour as months went on. I was finally surrounded by people my own age, and because of that, I gained the confidence and the competitive edge that I needed to succeed in life. But along with competition, came stress. 

Consumed with the heap of schoolwork I didn’t have during my freshman year, I began to lose hope. I spent nights sitting at my computer, staring at my blank screen with the blinking cursor staring into my soul, waiting for me to make a move. I was overcome with a sense of anguish. 

The years 2019-2021 were years of personal torment, both at home and during online school. It was if I was suffering from writer’s block, but instead of feeling uninspired, I felt undetermined. “Am I depressed?” This was a thought that ran through my mind.

 This isn’t the end of my story. I was able to overcome that gloomy period in my life, with the help of teachers like Mrs. Lopez, and of course, my friends and family who held me up from the puddle of sorrow, that once drowned the wit that set me apart from others my age. 

Although from time to time, I can still feel that unruly, cynical monster creeping over my shoulders, I remind myself that even during the misfortune I endured, I was still able to push through and produce some of the best work I’ve ever written. And for that, I applaud myself and my generation of students who, even with the detrimental effects of COVID-19, persevered through our global affliction.