Items
Instructional Method is exactly
San Ramon Valley Unified School District
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2020-11-09
Getting scammed over $5000 overseas.
It was late at night, around 2-3 AM. I was staying up because I didn’t have school due to the pandemic. I was browsing on a trading website called Alibaba. It is where manufactures around the world sell their products to other traders to resell. I was just browsing anything that came to my mind and i thought of searching a car i have wanted for a long time. I searched up a Mercedes G63. Apparently these people had their car inventory in Greece but they first ship the vehicle to somewhere else before shipping it to me. I was so manipulated to think I was getting something too good to be true. I bank transferred $2000 then $3000 overseas. This was the biggest mistake of my life but one to learn from. -
2020-09-21
Loss in a COVID World
I believe this is a point of interest to talk about, since it’s likely that many will wonder, out of innocent curiosity, what it’s like to lose someone in a time of crisis. I should describe it as transcendental. May your soul be touched. My beloved mother didn’t die from COVID-19. She had been unknowingly battling cancer for several years, and had it diagnosed at its most lethal stage. I still shake my hands at the doctors who had ignored her concerns for all this time, because maybe she would still have been here if it weren’t for them. But how would that affect me? Would things remain the same at home? I have to say, I shudder at this thought, too. Colon cancer, which metastasized in the liver. She passed from liver failure in the later part of this year, 2020. I, the foolish child, was so preoccupied that I couldn’t understand why my uncle woke me at 4 am in the morning that day. With a classic sleepy rub of the eye, I told him, “I have a math test today.” And if it hadn’t been for the pain in his eyes, I wouldn’t have gotten up at all. There she was, lying eerily still in her bed, but she was also gone. As the people around me sobbed and turned away, all I could do was stand and stare. It felt like something was out of place. I felt out of place. If you could try to imagine it, remain perfectly still as you are and think of yourself exiting your body. Look around you without looking. That’s how it felt, everything slightly blurry by the darkness, lightness in my feet as if I were floating, a static, metal taste in my mouth, the sounds of sobbing flooding my ears, I couldn't handle it. I started to cry, and buried myself in the crook of my brother’s chest for support. To be in the unknown, and lose what you have, is the most frightening experience I wish for nobody else to have gone through. The pain is truly insufferable… but the healing process counts for so much of who I define myself as now, that I couldn’t imagine the year going any other way. The funeral was held the following sunday. It too was such a different experience. We took many long, empty roads to reach the cemetery. Seeing few cars on the road is commonplace for such a road, but to see none at all was creepy. I relinquished my thoughts to sleep. Upon our arrival, I put my mask on and stood before 50 some odd people who had come to see my mother off. That’s right, I thought comfortably, Mom was very well loved. The notion was reassuring. We exchanged hugs and hellos and sorrys, all the usual pleasantries you would expect at an event not so pleasant, and made our way to the casket for the gathering to take place. I’ll leave the eulogy I wrote here, in case you were curious and thought, I wonder what this stranger said at their mother’s funeral, because this is expected when you are here to read about losing a loved one. Finally, when all was said and done, condolences were given again. This time, though, I hardly recognized anyone. It must’ve been the masks that obstructed our faces, because I saw the attendees, and they saw me, but it was still so unfamiliar. The later part of that day I spent confused. I suppose that’s how we start when we learn to adjust, which I did. Presently I am still healing, but it’s not so bittersweet when I think of her, moreso sweet than bitter. The metal taste in my mouth begins to wear off, and I am feeling free. I hope she also feels free. And I hope this provided the insight you were looking for when you came across this page. We all love and lose in the end. Focus your energy towards healing, and you will learn to grow with the changes. -
2020-04-08
Birthdays During Covid19
When the stay at home order was first put in place back in March many events, gatherings, and plans had to be cancelled. One special day that many people didn’t want to go unnoticed were birthdays. My friends and I saw multiple stories and videos of people doing drive by birthdays in order to celebrate the special day of their friends and family. One of my best friend's birthday was in April. Before we went on lockdown we were planning on doing a surprise birthday party at his house. Unfortunately this was cancelled because of the lockdown. I’m sure you can imagine the disappointment that we all felt because we couldn’t celebrate with our friends. We decided to do a birthday drive by. All of our friends gathered at the park around the corner from his house in our cars in order to drive by. I looked around as I sat there. This was our new normal that we were going to have to accept. I saw a row of cars behind mine waiting to wish our friend happy birthday through our car windows. I heard all my friends yelling from car to car in order to talk to each other. We drove by his house multiple times and eventually stopped in front to talk to him individually and do the best we could to give him a good day. Instead of swimming in his backyard and eating pizza together, we sat out front yelling and honking. We realized things had changed but thankfully we were able to make the best of the situation were in. -
2020-09-09
Skating Under A Sunless Sunset
September 9th, 2020. The first day in years where I wake up and I am terrified by what I see: the world outside my window is drenched in orange light. I blink multiple times and bolt up, making sure I am not dreaming and that I am in complete control of my faculties. I sit in my room, stunned, for a few moments, then go about my day as usual. I peek my head outside for a moment, and smell nothing in the air. None of the smoke that had been plaguing our noses for the past few days was permitted among the copper splendor. My whole morning, I am terrified of what this could potentially mean: that the fire was close. That we could be in danger. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth for the morning. After class, I go about my normal after-school activities, gaming on my computer and playing on the guitar. At about 6 in the evening, I decide to myself “screw it.” I pick up my board, put my earbuds in, and get out of the house. The orange is dimmer, but still terrifyingly beautiful to look at. I skate around, listening to my favorite music as I observe the neighborhood around me, the same shapes with different meanings now. I dare not to pull out my phone to ruin this moment, knowing a photograph or video from it will ruin the moment for me. I stop along Mangos Drive and just sit on the curb, board behind my feet, and I stare up, hearing only my music and the occasional car passing by. A true calm, I was in, one I hadn’t been in in a long time. And so I sat there, knowing where the sun sets, but seeing no sun. I knew when it did set, but not through sight. Through feeling. The lukewarm day turned colder, the orange dimmed to a vibrant brown, and I felt phenomenal. I skated back home, not caring to check how long I’d been gone, knowing it was well worth it however much time I spent out there. I snapped out of it, and continued with the things I had been doing before, playing games and the guitar. Not once, that whole day, did I smell or taste smoke. And I am grateful for it. -
2020-09-20
online learning is hard
Someday in September, I was curious about how to learn everything online just being five hundred feet far away from students and the teachers. I’m starting to get bored to just stay there forever, this makes me want to go back to school again. If you want to meet your friend you need to meet online. The only fun thing left for me to do is to play videogames on my computer making me felt time go pass faster. However, online learning just comes in and cleans up my schedule of playing video games. So now I need to wake up at midnight just for “learning” online for six hours straight and start getting tired because of the different time zone I’m in also homework. In conclusion, I just want to be lazy again not having any homework or classes online. -
2020-10-27
Times of a Bitter Sweet Pandemic
During this pandemic, I have been feeling a wave of emotions. Loneliness, solidarity, confusion, boredom. These past few months have not been easy for anyone, to say the absolute least. Being isolated has taught me a lot about myself; a lot of things that have been hard to cope with. However, there was one thing that brought me joy during these times: baking. Baking ties in with so many things I like. Art, food, TV, and designing. On July 1st, it was my little sister Melia’s 9th birthday. For this important day, I decided to do something extravagant and make Oreo cupcakes. I’ve never made Oreo cupcakes because my family isn’t much of a sweet tooth, (and are kind of obsessed with richer tastes like strawberry) but my little sister LOVES Oreos. Because of that, I spent an entire night baking her cupcakes- making sure they were up to perfection. Knowing that she wasn’t able to get a proper celebration or party made me sad, but also motivated me to make the best out of that day just for her. The fumes of the sweet vanilla filled my kitchen as I spent the next few hours baking batches and batches of cupcakes. I would take occasional tastes of the batter just to make sure it was mixed evenly, of course. The cupcakes were left to bake for an hour, and that was the time I spent to make sure the decorations would be perfect. The next day, I surprised her with the cupcakes and she was ecstatic. I was worried that it the cupcakes weren’t enough for a 9 year old because the pandemic limited me from getting her a physical present, like a toy. Nobody’s ever went out of their way to make such cool cupcakes, she said. I even went with to one of Melia’s friends houses with her so we could share our sweet surprise with them. Not only did I make my sister’s day, but I even made some other little kids’ day too! Although this story may seem like any regular birthday surprise, it showed me how much the littlest things could bring someone so much joy, and there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it may be a dim one. -
2020-03
Going to The Market During COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic the only time most people left there houses was to go to a market to get food once and awhile. In my house one person would go once a week and everyone always wanted to be the person to go. We would have a shopping list that everyone would write what they wanted and the person selected would have to get everything on the list. During to the market it felt like no one was on earth anymore. The roads were empty with no one insite. The markets were the busiest place so they had to restrict the number of people inside at once. While inside the market everything felt so dirty because you would constantly think about “was this touched by someone who had COVID.” This is important to remember because this is the only place people went during the pandemic and it made them happy just to get out of the house. -
2020-10-27
Driving during COVID
The first time I went driving after March 13th was to drop off groceries to my aunt. The freeway was empty with very few cars on the road. It was very peaceful being alone on the road. I heard the music from my car but not alot of other car engines. -
2020-10-27T12:06
An Unexpected Return
After being out sick for a week filled with chills, doctors appointments, the smell of soup, and the feeling of my warm blanket, I finally returned to school on Friday. I could see the empty classrooms, hear the quiet rooms, smell the hand sanitizer, touch the desks and door handles with precaution, and taste the uneasiness in the room. I heard whispers of people talking about “the coronavirus”. I saw people wiping down their desks and chairs. I smelt of constant cleaning supplies. I felt my heart beating faster than normal. This were all new senses that were coming to me in one day. I was confused and scared of the uncertainty of it all. I was barely comprehending and my mind was filled with thoughts and heat full of emotion. Little did I know, that was my last day of school. -
2020-10-27
Senses Throughout the Covid Experience
I remember the intercom on March 13th telling the students “School will be out for two weeks due to the Coronavirus.” At first, this was awesome, we got time off school with no homework!! But then the break never stopped and school never resumed to what it used to be. Being quarantined went from days, to weeks, to months, and hasn’t stopped yet. We barely finished the school year online and thought we would go back at the start of next year. Oh were we wrong! All we see is the computer screen! We were quarantined for another 3 months and proceeded to do the first semester of the 2020-2021 school year online. Hopefully we get to go back to school next semester. We will be able to talk to one another and get out of the boring home. This virus has blocked us from our homecoming, football season, sports, hanging out with friends, celebrating holidays, socializing at school, and seeing family. Instead, we are on the computer for 5-6 hours a day either in zoom meetings or doing homework. We now can’t touch everything, talk to who we used to, and taste all of the diverse foods we would go out and have. It isn’t healthy! We need to go back to school next semester even if it is hybrid. This pandemic has taken a toll on everyone and we need to get through this together. -
2020-10-27
The New Smell of Walmart
Walmart. Not known for being the cleanest and best smelling place on Earth. In the past, I’d walk in and there would be always be an odd stench. One that smelled of old moldy bread and burnt bacon. However, I was very used to the smell given that I’d usually stop by here once a month after lacrosse practice to pick up gatorade for the following practices. Once COVID-19 struck. Walmart’s smell has changed significantly. The employees are constantly cleaning, wiping down registers, mopping the tile, and spraying down the carts. Now a distinct smell of bleach fills the entire store. The mask that I wear in the store isn’t enough to block out the strong smell of bleach. It’s so strong that it stings my nose. I hope that the smell of bleach can die down and oddly enough return to the regular old smell. -
2020-08
Record setting heat in California
This year during the covid-19 pandemic there was a record-breaking Heat Wave across California the hottest place getting to 130 degrees Fahrenheit disaffected Millions across California and even caused disasters like wildfires that burned houses and many acres of land. I lived relatively far away from the fires so there was a slight risk but a small risk that my how would be burned by the fires this was still a cause for concern or my family and many of my relatives families who lived near the wildfires. The heat wave burn down people I knows homes a Cause millions in property damage and lots of emotional damage As people's personal belongings were burned. for me the heat wave cause discomfort nothing compared to people across California but still enough to make me lose sleep to cause me stress that my house may be burned down The fires as well as the covid-19 pandemic were not A good combination of disasters for one year have caused strive to many as there already at home 24/7 and that whole may have their homes and livelihoods torn down and burnt by wildfire. -
2020-10-26
Store Shutdowns
March 13, 2020 started off a normal day. I went to school and listened to all the conversations about COVID and possible school shutdowns. After school my friends and I went to Target but little did I know that the next time I would visit a store would be completely different. A few days later I went to the grocery store with my family. It was a shocking sight when I walked in and seen everyone with a mask on and shelves completely empty. It was like an apocalypse was among us. Everyone was running rampid, pushing their carts as fast as possible and had a mask on all in the process. I had to feel everything through my rubber gloves and had a hard time smelling anything through my mask. Our new normal is wearing mask, social distancing and putting on hand sanitizer every second possible. This is important to share because it shows how COVID has shaped the way we live today. -
2020-10-26
A Short Review of My COVID-19 Experience
Everything started at my job at my school’s pool, when one of my bosses told me that the district shut down my school. I was a little surprised, but I got back to work, it was off season and the pool wasn’t going to watch itself. The smell of Chlorine and chemicals was slightly comforting, since at least I still had work, which was something to do during these strange times. But over time there was more talk from my job’s higher ups about shutting down the pool, and two weeks after school closed, my job did as well. Now the only thing I could do was lay around my house, listen to the news and my family stuck in our home. Online school starting up was the worst though, having to sit there and listen to teachers yell at us over due dates even though I wasn’t paying attention to what day it was, everything was just a blur. Finally, it was summer, instead of sitting outside and listening to the birds chirping or smelling a nice barbecue, I was stuck inside, with nothing to do. In June, after almost three months, my work returned! Back to Chlorine and Hand Sanitizer, it was the first time I’d seen any of my friends in person, we stayed safe and far away, but it was good to be in the same room as them. And as quickly as Summer came it left, and we were back to school, well digitally back to school. it's much better than earlier this year. But it didn’t help that during the first week of school we got huge fires, it didn’t affect my schoolwork but it did affect my work, I spent two weeks on and off at work, only smelling smoke and seeing the orange sky and red sun. Now things have gotten better, I still work, I still go to school, and I’m a year older than I was before. Hopefully, things will keep getting better. -
2020-10-26
Leaving the House After 4 Months of Quarantine
Leaving the house in this climate has been an event and a half each and every time it happens. You really begin to take it for granted- all those months in quarantine and not seeing the outside world really does do numbers on your perception of what is real and fake, as odd as it sounds. Everything changes when you’re deprived of something for so long. I remember the first time I left the house. It was my family and me- we were leaving to go to my Grandma’s house, I think, and this was four to five months into quarantine. Prior to this, I haven’t been past my backyard for the past half a year. I’ve never been a big outdoorsy person, so there was no reason to really leave my house the entire time. So my family drags us all out to go and see my Grandma, who has been doing somewhat meh recently. We get ready, take showers, the whole shebang. I remember seeing trees again. You’d think that oh, seeing trees is completely normal, it’s something we see on a daily basis. But the difference between seeing them through my bedroom window and in real life was honestly kind of shell shocking. I spent the entire car ride just watching outside the window and absorbing the world back in. It seemed so much greener than before’ I’m not sure if that’s because no one has been outside and that helps the environment, or if it’s just been so long since I saw plants that it almost seemed unreal. The smell, too, oh my god. I forgot how the outdoors kind of vaguely smells like plants all the time depending on where you are, but the area near my grandma's house smelled exactly like flowering trees. My family were all laughing seeing my reactions because it seemed so odd, but honestly, it genuinely shocked me. You don’t realize how much you take for granted until it’s ripped away from you, after all. They’ve been able to leave the house, but I haven’t, so of course I’m going to be super confused and astounded. But yes. Was a weird experience. Trees really did look greener back then and the world seemed so new- it’s weird to think about since it’s not something people think about often or re-evaluate. After all, it’s something that’s meant to melt into the background, since people have more to focus on than trees passing by on the highway or the smell they make. -
2020-10-26
Sports? What's That?
March 13th was the day that everything changed. My social life, school, activities and especially sports, were gone. I remember the last day that we were in school before getting the email that schools were going to be shut down for what we thought was only going to be two weeks, I had open gym for volleyball. I remember me and my team being super excited because we haven't played in moths and we were all excited to get back on the court and to all be together. My team and I all meet after school to get ready for practice and as we were walking to the gym in all of geer that took 20 minutes to put on, out team captain told us that our open gym was canceled. Everyone was in shock and mad at the same time because we all wanted to get back on the court, plus we had already changed and that took a lot of work! After we all said our goodbyes not knowing how long it would be until we saw each other again and even how long until we were able to get back on the court. Finally after months of being away from volleyball and my team we started conditioning. It was so fun to each my team and to get to workout together. We are not sure when we will get back on the court but at least we have conditioning which is a huge step forward. -
2020-08-13
The Reality of Traveling During COVID-19
ere silent and it seemed as if I was living in a ghost town. I exited the car with family who all had their masks on. I could smell the cloth of my mask and see the open building that I always remembered being packed. I remembered the people scattering around trying to make it to their flight on time. But what I was experiencing wasn’t even close to that. The building seemed empty. When I did encounter someone they would look at me and make sure to maintain their distance. As I continued my journey to my boarding gate the restaurants didn’t seem as exciting as they normally did. My mask clogged my sense of smell, as I couldn’t smell the food like I normally could. Eventually I made it to my plane. The plane was filled will barely any people. My family occupied one row and the rest of the people were far from our seats. The entire 3 hour journey to Louisiana was filled with hard breathing with my mask, admiring the scenery and the empty plane. Smelling the humid air and my disappointment that I wasn’t getting my free drink. The entire experience was different and proved to me how Covid-19 is considered a sensory revolution. -
2020-10-26
Sensory Memory Changes During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected our sensory memory. All of the 5 senses have experienced a lot of change during this pandemic. Personally, I found the streets and stores to not be as packed as they used to be. When I go outside, I see most people are wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from each other. During the pandemic, it has been a lot quieter as well. There is barely any traffic on the freeways or even the sound of cheering from football games and gatherings. The sense of taste also experienced a lot of change. Due to social distancing regulation, restaurants and cafes have been closed or only allowed takeout. Personally, it's been almost 8 months since the last time I went out to eat at a restaurant or get coffee pastries at a local cafe. For smell, California was struggling with fires so for a few weeks and all I was able to smell was smoke. Finally, the sense of touch has been experiencing change. I'm not able to see my relatives and friends. Since I can’t really go outside or visit people during these times, I haven't experienced a hug, high-five, or shaking someone’s hands in a while. -
2020-10-26
2020
August 17, 2020 the first day of school. Years in the past for school i have jumped up excited to meet my new teachers, see my classmates and start sports. This year i felt something different, I was excited I was scared to start this virtual learning journey where my home becomes my school, my bedroom becomes my classroom and my family becomes my classmates. This life we are living is one that will be told for decades to come, so let’s tell it the right way. The very first mandate was to wear a mask, this was to keep others safe of your germs. Wearing a mask limited interaction with people because it was hard to hear them or know how they are feeling because we can’t see facial expressions. The second mandate was a country wide quarantine, two weeks in your home to clean your body of the Coronavirus. Many people didn’t believe or did not want to follow this mandate so they didn’t, so two weeks turned into four months. Not being able to see your friends, family, co-workers, and just the general public was really strange and was hard to get used too, however now as things start to open it is strange and hard to get used to this as well.