Anwika Palle - Week 16 - Quarantine

 Waking up five minutes before class, staying in pajamas the whole day, taking naps between periods, practicing soccer in my garage, and facetiming my friends more often than I am able to now, is how I remember my sophomore year during quarantine.


During a majority of quarantine, my life felt like it was on pause, just like some of you may feel like. I enjoyed all the extra time I got. From not having to drive to and from school and other activities, I ended up having a lot of free time that I was able to spend relaxing and finding other hobbies I enjoyed. Over quarantine, I got to paint a lot more and hung out with a friend every weekend to spend hours debriefing over long and peaceful walks. 


When I look back on my quarantine experience, I envy all the ease I was able to experience. However, I seem to forget all the negatives that came with the experience. For example, towards the middle of the year, I started to miss the social experience of school more than ever. I was extremely unmotivated in doing my school work, causing me to procrastinate and end up putting more stress on myself since I couldn’t leave anything unfinished. Every day felt like a repeat of the last, and the weekends were not very different either. 


When thinking back on this, it makes me realize that I should appreciate this year more than I do. Although junior year has been tough for many of us, I am glad that I can see my friends everyday, play soccer games on the weekends, and make unforgettable memories. Life is going back to normal, and I appreciate that.



https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-social-distancing-and-self-quarantine

Comments

  1. DeetaMay 23, 2022 at 2:45 PM

    Hey Anwika!
    I definitely agree that sophomore year's repetitiveness was exhausting. I remember going into the year super happy and excited about being online. I would wake up early, workout, go to school, finish all my homework early, then facetime my friends, and sleep. It was such a nice productive schedule but because it was that exact same thing every single day, I quickly began to stop doing certain thing. I let go of working out, I started disliking socializing, and barely slept. I think even though I am so much more burnt out right now in person, I am thankful that each day is different from the last. Thank you for sharing and all your blogs this quarter Anwika:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Faith QiaoMay 23, 2022 at 3:28 PM

    The excitement of being in in-person school wore off. At first, it was like a hermit coming out to see how the world has changed in over twenty years of isolation, but right now, the amount of time I wasted cannot be more apparent. The digital clock on my phone just keeps ticking over and over and before I know it its 10:00 PM again. Everyday, I sit in classes distracted by conversations and too sleep-deprived to actually work. I think the best format of school is just every other day rather than everyday for five days of a week. The only thing that is necessary about school is social interaction and academic accountability. All of these things can be achieved in less time. Sometimes my own adaptability surprises me. The moment I get home, I don't want to leave. However, the moment I leave the house, I no longer have the desire to come home. In a sense, this is how I felt about social isolation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Krish ParikhMay 24, 2022 at 10:57 AM

    Hi Anwika,

    I really miss the ease of the quarantine life too. I remember the feeling of only having to wake up at 9:00am and end school at 2:00pm, and it was paradise. I had so much more time on my hands, and I was able to accomplish a lot more easily. However, like you, I'm also grateful to have junior year in person. I've been able to get close with so many people I normally wouldn't have been able to, and I feel a lot less isolated.

    Sincerely,
    Krish

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sean WangMay 24, 2022 at 5:15 PM

    Hi Anwika,

    I remember the day in March when quarantine first began. 2 weeks of school off was a godsend, especially during the harsh allergy season combined with the torrent of pointless tests. Little did I know that an entire year of high school would be robbed from me, along with any chance of social interaction. Quarantine was simultaneously horrible and wonderful; it gave me time to rest, yet it soon became too much to bear. I seriously hope we never have to go through something like that again, it was way too awful both physically and mentally.

    Sincerely,

    Sean Wang

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sophie Minh Thy C NguyenMay 25, 2022 at 5:21 PM

    Hi Anwika,
    I also mostly remember the ease and positive parts of quarantine life. Being able to be lazy and not having to go many places. But what my mind likes to leave out is all of the hardships. Similar to you, everything felt like it was on pause for me. It was odd. On the day they announced the "two week break" I went to hang out with my friend to help him get his mom a birthday cake. When I left, we exchanged the phrase "see you in two weeks." But the next time I saw him in person was more than a year later. One day, it life was normal, then the next, we had to create a new "normal." It does allow me to look a this year at another point of view, though. I am much more appreciative of everything we were able to experience in person.

    ReplyDelete
  6. RaymondMay 25, 2022 at 8:16 PM

    Hi Anwika,
    I also remember how slow life seemed during quarantine. Being able to have so much free time was an enlightening experience, something that I was able to fill with a lot of online reading. Junior year has been much more stressful and it has gone by in a flash. Sometimes I look back and wonder where all the time went. Life seems to pass me by like a blur even when the days feel like forever. I guess we are getting back into real life.
    Sincerely,
    Raymond Yu

    ReplyDelete
  7. VivanMay 25, 2022 at 8:47 PM

    Hi Anwika,

    I would say sophomore year was one of the easiest years of my life: you could wake up a few minutes before class and show up in pajamas, you could do virtually whatever you want when your camera and mic are off, and so much more. That year was really fun, but I hated the fact that we could not go back to previous questions on the AP Test.

    Sincerely,
    Vivan Waghela

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yi-Kuan CMay 25, 2022 at 9:25 PM

    Hi Anwika,

    Frankly, I feel like quarantine pretty much killed my entire ability to work at all. Ever since the insane level of procrastination that quarantine allowed me to live with, I have been struggling even more with procrastination. Whether this is a result of the procrastination actually getting worse or if I just have more work, I cannot tell. However, one this is for sure. The feeling of eating lunch with all my friends is always an absolute joy.

    Yi-Kuan C.

    ReplyDelete

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