2020 is an unforgettable year in human history that has entirely messed up our “peaceful” society. But have you ever thought about the fact that our human beings have never lived in a peaceful world? There are tons of potential dangers we don’t know are affecting our society that can lead to war in a sudden. Therefore, it is time to improve our stress resistance right away in order to avoid unexpectations.
Overall, I think the most important tip is still your experience in society. Pandemic is a “superclass” for anyone, because most of them have experienced such a sudden event in their life. Nevertheless, it is not a bad thing either, maybe we will never encounter this kind of situation in the future without pandemic. This time we have no reasons to be scared in front of any difficulties because they are so easy to confront compared to pandemic’s influence. My dad told me a word when I was young, “Everything you’ve done and experienced is meaningful.” Once we experience them, nothing is valuable to be scared of.
Jerry L
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Let’s face it, this past year during the pandemic has not been easy on anyone but as a teenager, it has been really hard. When I complain to my parents they always say, “You are learning to be resilient and that can’t be taught.” After rolling my eyes a few times, I finally looked up what “resilience” means. The Webster's Online Dictionary defines resiliency as, “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.” I have spent some time thinking about how this applies to me as a teenager, during this pandemic. I asked myself, “What am I learning almost by accident during these crazy Covid times?” How am I being resilient? This is what I have come up with:
When I reflect on all of these things, I see that my parents are probably right (even though I won’t ever tell them that). I can see that the pandemic has taught me a lot of important skills that I will be able to use as I grow up, start my career and in my future relationships. We have all gained resilience from this pandemic. This is a skill that will help us in the future. Resilience teaches us how to grow from negative experiences and changes, and during the pandemic we have gone through more than a few changes in our lives. We have learned to make the best out of bad situations and without even realising we will be positively impacted in the future because of the strength we have gained. Maybe when we think back on this pandemic in fourty years, only then we will realize all the skills we have learned.
Alexa K I can still vividly remember leaving school on March 13th; I remember the nervous buzz travelling among students, the uncertainty in the air, and finally, I remember thinking the sole consequence we would face due to COVID-19 was an additional two weeks added to our spring break (something which greatly excited me). Cut to the 299th day stuck in quarantine, and I can’t help but reflect on the time spent indoors, the time lost, and the changes made not only to our everyday lives, but to our health, both mental and physical. One of the most notable changes we’ve experienced as a society is the lack of social interaction, and the limits/boundaries surrounding seeing your friends/family, or people in general. Humans are inherently social beings, and require an extent of social interaction and stimulation to reach their full potential i.e. happiness. This is not an observation, but a fact: when interacting with another individual in person, our brain releases large amounts of dopamine and serotonin, two key components in producing happiness. When lacking social interaction, our brain is unable to produce serotonin and dopamine as quickly as it normally would, resulting in diminished moods, and in extreme cases, depression. This, combined with a fear of the virus itself, and stress (both externally and internally) make it quite difficult for anyone, regardless of gender/race/age to cope healthily and successfully during this pandemic. As a 17 year old, I’m lucky enough to be with family and not completely isolated, but the struggle of having a drastically different life than last year is something that I still have trouble processing. I would consider myself to be a fairly social person, or an extrovert, and am used to often being with my friends, or going out - it feels wrong to be indoors all the time, and I feel as though I’m doing something wrong, or wasting my teenage years by spending all my time inside. Because I’m a high school senior, I also feel a great deal of frustration at the timing of this whole ordeal; I’ve spent my childhood and the last four years of my life looking forward to this year and graduation, and the fact I’m spending most of my classes isolated from my friends and unable to spend time with my classmates is a thought that honestly makes me really sad. Anger is a very prevalent emotion for me recently, and I notice myself dwelling on what could have been, or what I’ve missed out on, as well as self pity and deprecation. It helps to remind myself that others are in the same position, and I’m fortunate enough to have it better than many other people right now. All seriousness aside, one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced over these past nine months is boredom, and ways to deal with all the free time recently amassed. What follows are fun and healthy ways you can safely spend your remaining time in quarantine:
I hope these 10 suggestions are able to help pass time, and I hope 2021 brings us all a lot better than 2020 did! Stay safe, stay home, and wear a mask! :) Callie F https://dailyillini.com/special-sections/2020/04/09/bored-in-quarantine-twenty-ways-to-kill-time/ As people nowadays we feel we need the comfort of others especially when you’re going through a tough time. It honestly took me a while to realise how much covid is affecting our world, talking about people who are in the hospitals. I was recently in the hospital for a surgery and I could only see my mom, which I’m not complaining about but I couldn’t see my dad or my brother that I hadn’t seen in a few days. They’re keeping as many people out of the hospital so that we can keep our cases the same or even lower. For me, experiencing what some people have everyday, like maybe they don’t even get to see one person because of their health condition, was very hard to think about. Noticing how important it is to keep your distance and follow all the covid guidelines that we are given so that these people are able to have company and not feel like they are trapped in one place especially care homes. The comfort of others, especially family members is a big part of peoples lives when they’re not at their best. Another thing that I started noticing more than before is how lucky I am to have my family and be able to be healthy. Sometimes I forget about the little things in my life that I am grateful for because I feel like it’s normal for everyone when it’s not. I am so grateful that my surgery went well and that I have good doctors on my case who are trying to figure out what’s wrong so they can help me. I knew that doctors were very caring for their patients and that they always do everything they can, to help you. I just didn’t realise all the things they go through in order to figure out what’s happening and how to help. I am so thankful for the amount of nurses we have for everyone that has covid, because all of the people taking care of them are making sure that they are comfortable, other than the fact they don’t feel well which they are trying to help with. Taking a few good things out of a bad thing that has happened made me realise that I am privileged and I should be grateful for that especially for the health care I received. Now I have started writing what I am grateful for every morning because I never really realise what have until I write it down because then the thought stays. Writing down what I’m grateful for makes my day better because then I am uplifted and I am more calm once I realise the little things in my life that matter. 2020 has not been my family's year, my moms work burnt down, my dad had a heart attack and then I had surgery. But one thing that has gone well is how my brother was drafted to the Kelowna rockets. Within everything, your family or your school life, you realise there is always something good. I challenge you to take one thing out of everything in your life that may have gone wrong and for you to find something good about it, no matter the situation, there is always going to be something good. If you haven’t had anything bad recently then think about something good that happened and why you are so happy that it happened. Sometimes it just takes a bit to realise it but once you do, it becomes something that lifts you up and keeps you positive no matter what is going on in your life. Taking a step back and seeing everything, everyone and the privileges we have can really change the way we see life. I found writing things down stuck with me longer, but maybe for you it stays a different way, everyone is different in the way that they have different interests and experiences.
https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/490828-no-visitors-allowed-we-need-humane-hospital-policy-during-covid-19 http://minimalistathome.com/yucky-stuff/ Tyler L. I didn’t really know what to write my blog about. I didn’t know until today. Me and my dad went out to go pick up sushi for dinner. In the car we put on gloves and a mask before getting out. We went into the restaurant and about 10 other people were inside. No one is wearing a mask or gloves. People weren’t staying 6 ft apart. I’ve been out a few times before, and every time like this one, we get people looking at us like we're crazy. It’s crazy how people look at us like we're insane for taking extra safety precautions. I don’t really care what other people think, but I just find it interesting how quick people are to judge. It’s also interesting how some people don’t seem to put much care into what we're experiencing right now. I’ll be at the store and people will walk right next to me. Like covid-19 is inexistent. For some people like that, it may not seem like a big deal. Some people will say “It’s unlikely we’ll get it” or “It doesn't really do much”. I get how it can seem that way, but you don’t really know until you can experience the pain of someone you love getting it, and the thought of them possibly dying. Those strangers that will walk by me with the slightest care in the world, don’t know the whole story. They don’t know what the impacts could be. For me covid-19 is especially scary. A few months ago my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was one of the most terrifying things I've ever experienced. She got the cancer removed successfully, and now she is going through chemotherapy, and then after she will do radiation to ensure it won’t come back. A lot of people know this but when you're sick like that, your body gets super weak, and can’t handle a lot. So if my mom were to get it, she could very much possibly die. That’s why my whole family needs to be careful. My whole message on this blog includes two things. The first thing is to be careful while this whole virus is going on. Stay safe and think of others before doing things. We’re all gonna get through this. Another thing is that you truly don’t know what people are going through. Someone might seem so happy, but is sad inside. Someone might be a bit strange to you, but don’t make it obvious you feel that way. Think before you do something mean, judge, or say something about someone. How could that make the person feel? How is that spreading positivity? Think about others, before you do something. You could do something that might not seem like a big deal to you, but really something as simple as walking too close to me, could take someone's life.
Alexa K |
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