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  2021-01-25

  COVID-19 Stats and Story

  Coronavirus happened so quickly. It is difficult to recall details from March 14 2020. The day my family and thousands of others went into quarantine. March 14 2021 is approaching quickly. Back then it seemed like nobody knew anybody who had the virus. It was all rumors and stories. Now it seems like everybody knows or has had Coronavirus. A prediction is that 1 in 3 people in LA county have had Coronavirus, which is totally insane. Los Angeles county has over 10,000,000 residents. Meaning that about 33,333,333+ people have been infected, many without knowing. Although it is an estimate, that shows how serious this virus is. 1000-3000 (about) people in America die due to Coronavirus each day. About 15,000 people die each day worldwide. There have been almost 100,000,000 Coronavirus cases and 2 Million deaths. 1/70 of the world has been diagnosed, not including those who are asymptomatic and those who were not or do not have access to tests. About 2 million people have died. That is 1/50 of those diagnosed. Seeing these numbers shocks me. It opens my eyes and makes me realize how truly important it is the wear a mask and to be safe. My grandpa, I call him Papa, is getting the first dose of his Coronavirus vaccine tomorrow. I am so excited that he will have immunity. There are 11 cases of Coronavirus in his 200 person retirement home. He is 84 years old. I am so glad that Papa will be safe. He was widowed when my grandma, Grammy about 11 years ago, so I believe she had been his guardian angel just as she has been mine. My final thought is that I cannot wait for Coronavirus to be cured and for the vaccine to have wider distribution.
• 2021-01-21

  Symptoms of Covid-19

  Personally, I do not know anybody who has gotten COVID-19 super well. The closest person who was in my life the most before he got diagnosed is my amazing history teacher, Mr. Newman. Thankfully, the risk is very low that we got the virus from him. We sit behind plexi-glass, sanitize our hands, clean our desks, and stay six feet away. Mr. Newman and his family are hanging in there. He is currently teaching from zoom and we have a super cool camera that goes 360 degrees around the classroom. It is called an owl camera. It zooms in on whoever is talking and makes virtual learners and teachers feel like they are actually in the classroom. Mr. Newman is well enough to be on zoom, however I can imagine that he probably does not feel great. I've seen some posts on a huge social media app called TikTok about symptoms of COVID-19. People of all ages, mostly teenagers, post comedy, dancing, informative, and pointless videos for everyone to see. People have talked about loosing taste and smell, coughing, and even more severe symptoms. Many who have permanent taste-loss from COVID-19 have tried a Jamaican remedy that helps people regain taste. You burn an orange until it is charred on a gas-lit fire stove. Then you peel it and eat the insides. If I get COVID-19 in the future and loose taste, I defiantly want to try making it. My great aunt passed away from COVID-19. She was not really a part of my life. I don't remember her at all. Her husband also tested positive and was hospitalized, however he recovered with some lung damage. My immediate family and I have been very careful which I believe is the reason why we have gotten minimal COVID-19 exposure and no familial positive tests. I am very thankful that we are all healthy.
• 2021-01-20

  COVID-19 Rules and Proceedures

  We all celebrated when school closed. We were so excited for our 2 week "break", yet little did we know that 300 days later we would still not return to school and virtual learning was the new normal. That Friday, it was Friday the 13th of March 2020, I got to sleep over at my friend's house. Me, Scarlett, Ella, and Ava had our last sleepover. The four of us haven't had a sleepover since then. Then on Saturday morning my parents brought me home and told me the news. We were going to quarantine to avoid getting Covid-19. "What?" I asked, not understanding why. Then we went into quarantine for months. Each Saturday my family had house deep-cleaning day, where we would do the work normally done by my cleaning company. We would go on long family walks with my blue-nosed Pitbull Rowdy-Girl. We would wear masks that my mom and I made during the earliest days of quarantine when it was too difficult to find masks. Although I understood why it was important to wear a masks and practice proper social distancing, the disability to see my friends made me so sad. Having no face to face social interaction outside of my family and dog was impossible to me, I wish life was the same as before COVID-19.
• 2021-01-14

  COVID-19: Virtual Learning

  School was one of the many things that came as a halt during COVID-19. At first, we all thought that COVID-19 would be a nice 2 week vacation. I thought that it would be an escape. However after hundreds of days on zooms, things began to be too boring. 8I would wake up at 7:59 sharp. Exactly one minute before class. Without brushing my har or washing my face I quickly opened my laptop which was on my brand new white desk that I added to my room in order to do zooms. Often times my wifi would go out and in and my family would yell as we glitched out of our period. Then I had a break and I would eat a breakfast of a microwavable frozen Costco sandwich. Then I would go to period 2 and begin my next zoom, then another. Then it was lunch and I would be starving during the long day of staring blankly at a computer screen. Finally I had period 4. Although often difficult, online school did have its' benefits. It was nice to be able to do school from the comfort of my own desk (sometimes bed), sleep in later, and eat during class. But it was very difficult to focus.
• 2021-01-11

  COVID-19:first occurences

  It was a cool, crisp, Monday morning. January 13, 2020. I remember the day so clear that I could recall it in deep detail. I had just returned to school a few days prior. I went on my new iPhone 11, which I had just received as a Christmas present, and began texting friends. I soon went onto an app called TikTok, went onto the for you page. There was lots of silly videos. Then, suddenly, I saw a video joking about some virus in China. But it was in China!! So for away. I thought it would never make it to America. I began researching it but time was limited. I thought it was just a regular virus, I doubted it wound affect me. I quickly ate an English Muffin with creamy apricot jelly and butter on top. I got in the cary and talked to my mom on the way to school. "Mom," I muttered as my brother sat silently in the front seat while I was in the back seat of the Prius, "what is this corona thing I heard about?". MY mom breathed out harshly and then back in. She promised me that it was just a little virus in China and that everything would be okay. We hugged goodbye, little did I know that in a few months, she would be the one of the only people I could hug. Then I went to school and said hello to my friends. To be completely honest, there was one of them that was not super kind to me, for privacy's sake, we are going to call her Bailey. I asked my not so friendly friend, Bailey if the had heard about Corona (which was the slang everyone was using to refer to it). "Ya duh!" she replied, "It's a huge virus that China created!". I was not interested in starting conspiracies. Then I went to class and my mind continued spinning for the rest of the day.
• 2020-12-24

  COVID-19 Christmas

  December 24, 2020. The long, terrible year is slowly, but surely, coming to an end. Nobody was excited for Christmas. My family of five had zero Christmas spirit. Nothing. My 17 year old sister, named Ashley, and my 16 year old brother, named Max, slept in until about noon. I got my day started early when I randomly opened my tired eyes around 8 A.M. It was definitely early considering the fact that I had gone to sleep at 2 A.M. the past night. I went downstairs, greeted my Pitbull and Boxer. Rowdy-girl, the not so scary pitbull, was very mellow. However my puppy Boxer Archer loves jumping on me. We had just adopted him a week before. He was a young dog however definitely not a super smart one. Something special about my family is that we celebrate Christmas mostly on Christmas Eve, leaving present-opening for Christmas Day. Although we usually would begin cooking traditional family meals that have gone several generations back early in the morning, our lack of spirit caused us to barbecue steak and green-beans later that night instead. My siblings woke up (at last) and were also dull and spirit-less. Christmas Eve was just another boring day living through a global pandemic. December 25, 2020. Now my family woke up later than usual. Although in earlier years we would open presents at 6 A.M., this year we dawdled, made breakfast, and opened out presents around 9. I love dancing. I received a skirt for ballet class, 200$, hair supplies, jewelry, and a purse. I was very happy. Although it wasn't the best Christmas ever, I definitely had a good time.
• 2020-12-10T14:39

  Life in 2020 Before COVID-19

  It was 2020, a new decade, a fresh start. Myself and the rest of Gen-Z all thought, "This is our time". Lots of us posted on social media all excited for new beginnings. Life was perfect. I was a seventh grader who loved to dance, and I went to my studio five times a week after school. Life was routine. I would wake up, and get ready for the day. I would shower, blow dry my hair, do my makeup, and get dressed. I was so worried about what every one thought of me, the same as many thirteen year olds are. I packed my back pack, said goodbye to my dog Rowdy-Girl, got in the car, and tool the five minute drive to a place I never looked forward to going: school. Class began at 8:05, and I made sure I was never late. I opened my locker, which was always organized, got my books, and walked into my first period class. Following my second class, I had a break for 20 minutes. My friends and I went to the cafeteria and got lots of snacks. It was nice to have some time to see friends. 3 more periods, then lunch. Each day was growing moribund and the same. 2 last periods, and we were released and so happy to go home after a long day of learning. Then I would get ready for dance, and have so much fun doing the sport that I love. Sure a few bad things happened in the early months of 2020. There was almost what people were calling "World War 3" due to conflicting views between America and Iran. A famous basketball player named Kobe Bryant. Many called him a legend and saw him as an inspiration. He sadly passed away in a terrible plane crash which involved his daughter and some of her teammates as well. However, the year was still overall alright. I got to perform in my school's dance show, I developed a live for surfing, and I felt like I was on top of the world. However a huge boulder was about to knock me down. Some virus was spreading around China, but none of us thought anything of it.