Items

• 
  2020-01-22

  Diary of a Quarantined Teen: 2020-2021 Edition

  Here lies a photo of my monitor, which I believe represents my current experience as a junior in high school. Pictured on the monitor is classwork, the bane of many students going through distance learning. It connects to the pandemic as most, if not all, students are being forced to go online to complete classwork and connect to Zoom classes as we suffer through our teen years. The internet is where many have come to meet new people, find answers, and much more, which all starts through our electronic devices. Personally, my devices have kept me sane since the pandemic first struck, but also became a major source of anxiety. This miracle holds numerous games in which I can release my stress and anger through, such as Valorant and Minecraft. In addition, it allows me to communicate with my friends through Discord, something that most teens utilize. However, it is where I sit for hours starting from as early as 7:30 am, to as late as 3:00 am, just for school. This may not be the healthiest thing to do, especially since all of this occurs in my bedroom, a place that used to be my haven. What was initially my safe space became a source of a multitude of emotions, such as stress, anger, joy, and much more. There is no longer a true feeling of comfort in any place I can think of, which really is the most disappointing part of it all. But, it’s just part of being a quarantined teen, right? During this quarantine, I believe I have changed for the better in most aspects, though my mental health has reached the lowest point it has ever gone. I’ve made so many new friends, something that I believe is somewhat hard for me, so I consider it a significant accomplishment. Most importantly, I have learned to prioritize myself. Although I’m not quite there yet, big decisions take baby steps, and thanks to it, I feel like I’m slowly getting better mentally. Unfortunately, I have also lost and drifted from friends, and lost a few people in my life due to the virus. As much as I want to feel sorry for myself, to just cry and complain about the unfairness of life, almost everyone is going through something due to the pandemic, so the best I can do is to stay silent and keep on pushing.
• 
  2020-03-13

  The Creation of Memories

  March 13, the covid-19 virus struck my highschool. We were sent home early and spring break was prolonged. Everyone assumed this would last a week maybe a month, but I knew that the devastation would last a long while more. Everyday during my lockdown, I focused on myself, more than I ever had before. I worked out every day, I baked, I did my school work, I was on a schedule. Over the four weeks I barely went out of my apartment, I tried my best to keep my head up high and try not to worry about the essential and front line workers. I buried myself into Tik Tok, which is what my story is going to be about. Through lock-down I became quite the dancer. I managed to learn most of the Tik-Tok dances and become fascinated with the Tik Tok algorithm. Although this sounds like a bit of a problem, I was happy, I spent hours a day on my phone scrolling. A screenager, I know. Well, in the midst of my scrolling I would come to romanticize my life post covid, how I will be making new friends and exploring new places. I made one Tik Tok a day, no kidding. I created an archive of the lockdown in my drafts. I devoted a lot of my day to Tik Tok, I kept up with the drama and followed all of the baking trends. However, my Tik Tok debut never occurred, sadly. But, I did come to find out new things about myself. I know, most people find social media toxic in some sort of way, as I do now, but during lockdown I felt it was a sort of outlet. I expressed myself and laughed, and saw a little happiness while being inside. I realized that all of my saved videos on Tik Tok would be an archive for my children, they would look at the videos and the umpteenth amount of selfies I took and laugh. Of course, the pandemic is no funny situation at all, but when my children learn about it and question how covid was for me I can show them. The photograph is not as important as my realization of how the Tik Tok changed the pandemic. It might have altered it in a bad way at times because people were glued to their screens. But it is okay for people to spend time on it, to make them laugh and to make them maybe become more creative.
• 
  2020-08-18

  5 hours on Zoom is too much

  Sitting next to my 6yo while she sits on Zoom for 5 hours isn’t working. The teachers assume that a parent is there ready to jump in at any moment, and if we aren’t problems bubble up. For example, I was working on Maya’s second day of school and I missed that she took a bathroom break and missed that her teacher scolded her for taking one. I emailed the school’s principal, because while I really, really want her to attend the bilingual school, I don’t think it’s possible with the current set up. I wrote an email and asked, basically, what would happen if she unenrolled and came back.
• 2020-06-01

  A privileged withe boy in a privilegedsocietys take on quarantine

  For complete context, I am a white 8th grader at an exceptional private school who lives in the bay area and is very privileged. Today I will be talking about hat quarantine has been like for me. At the start, I was happy at thought of maybe a few weeks off school because of some flu but then it became serious and school was canceled for the entire year. as the days went on I started a routine. online school from 9 to 2 (with lunch in between of course) then exercise outside for an hour (pretty much just walked my dog most of the time), then play video games for most of the remaining day. video games were the only way I made contact for most of the quarantine with my friends. my favorite games to play during quarantine was 2k and COD but mostly COD. Anyways that has been my life for the last few months and it has not been half bad. Besides the fact I couldn't go out or see any of my friend's quarantine was kinda nice. But after a while, people started getting tired of quarantine and started to see their friends again. It started with most girls who were craving social interaction and then eventually after a few weeks spread to the boys. another thing about quarantine was I was on my phone a lot. I averaged around 7 hours a day of screen time which included binging of Netflix shows, viewing of plenty TikTok, and sending lots of snaps. Some shows I have watched over qaurantine are tiger king, money hiest, community, all american, space force, etc.. also, another thing if this matters to you are my political beliefs. I am liberal and I think trump is an awful president and person (excuse my language). Anyways quarantine hasn't been too exciting and it has been kinda boring. also, the protest in the name of George Floyd and I do not support the violent protests but I truly believe In the cause that they are supporting and I think we shouldn't have to live in a racist world. If I am being honest I would actually like to go to a protest but my parent probably won't let me because its "dangerous" or something along those lines. Anyway, that has been my take on my quarantine and I hope whoever you are that is reading this that you are living in a better world with a better government right now. Thanks for your time. -please excuse my awful grammar
• 
  2020-04-21

  Wondery's Fighting Coronavirus Podcast, "Taking Care of Our Kids"

  Episode 5 of Wondery's Fighting Coronavirus podcast, entitled "Taking Care of Our Kids," tackles the problems facing today's youth as a direct result of school shutdowns under nationwide shelter-in-place orders. Interestingly, of the major concerns surrounding children during this pandemic, learning does not enter the top 3. Instead, experts are more concerned with food security, student safety, and the long term social and emotional impact of the overall pandemic experience. The podcast also discuss the potential structural changes to America's education system as a result of the uncertain future of the pandemic and shift to remote learning. The conversation around remote learning is sure to continue as educational systems determine how best to proceed in the coming months. There are many calls throughout the country to reopen schools in the pre-pandemic format. This podcast suggests a complete different reality.