Blog 3: The Environment and Me

The Covid pandemic without doubt affected everyone, yet, it affected everyone differently. For many it was negative and some it was positive. For me personally, it was a combination of both. At the beginning of the pandemic, like many other schools, we were sent into a completely virtual learning environment. I remember the day it happened, we were told that we were going to do school virtually for two weeks and then we would be back to in person learning. Those two weeks passed by and we were still not returning to any type of normal learning environment and soon enough my sophomore year was over and I had only attended school for a few months and felt like I did not learn anything. The next year, my junior year, we still did not return to in person learning and this was the year I was taking my hardest and most important classes. I found it very hard to stay focused and learn effectively. As a result, I did not do well on my AP exams so I did not get the college credit for those courses that I otherwise feel like I could have gotten credit for if I were physically at school. As you can see Covid had a direct effect on my education and as a consequence I did not get the college credit I desired from some of my courses. 

Although Covid negatively affected my education there were some positive outcomes that came along with it. With having all of my classes virtually it allowed me to have more free time at home. Many events, sports and other activities I normally participated in that took up a lot of my time were shut down so I was able to learn a lot about myself and discovered some new interests. I was able to spend more time with my family and grew closer to them through the pandemic. I also began to realize my love for being outdoors. I started to go on more hikes and walks through parks, I even picked up on playing disc golf as it was one of the few activities that I could do with others and still remain safe and socially distanced from one another. This increase in time spent outdoors and less time spent on school helped decrease my stress levels and improved my mental health. At the time it served as a much needed break from the stress of school, however, I was ready to be back to in person learning by my senior year of high school. 

Overall, Covid played a big role in helping me discover new things about myself and to not put as much worth into school. I am grateful that although I had a negative experience with the pandemic as far as my education and feeling isolated from friends there were still some positive aspects as well.