If I were to describe last year in one statement, I would say that this has been the strangest year of my life. This last year has been a roller coaster of sadness, confusion, desolation, and stress. Despite all my struggles in the year, I learned many new things, that I am grateful for.

It all started in March of 2020, when a harrowing announcement told us that school was out for two weeks. As I left six period with a smile on my face, I thought that it would simply be two free weeks off from school. I had spent the first two weeks playing games, sleeping in, and doing typical high school things. It all felt good, until I realized what was truly going on around the world. Every time quarantine got extended, desperation grew for me. The news was always filling up with rising infection and death numbers that never seemed to stop. The constant negativity and tragedy around the world caught up with me. To make matters worse, school work returned after a few weeks of early quarantine. The disconnected school experience without direct human contact, made it hard to have motivation. Making adjustments to the computer screen alone was very stressful and confusing. Still, I pushed through the end of my freshmen year by finishing all my work, and ending with all A’s.

To deal with boredom I decided to buy a bass guitar. As someone who loves music, I had always wanted to start some kind of a band. One of my friends plays guitar, while another played drums, so forming a band seemed like the perfect opportunity. Quarantine seemed like a time where all hope was lost, so having something to help you get through is important. That very thing was the bass. Every time I got bored, I picked up the bass and started playing for hours. Any time I get a chance to pick up the thing, I would do it. The idea of being able to play the bass in my free time inspired me to do all my homework during my sophomore year. I always had the mindset of, if I get this work done, then I can play the bass later. Knowing that I can jam with my band after pandemic, motivated me to just keep pushing through the school year.

Despite the bass always being there for me, I still felt overwhelmed by school, in second semester of this year. As someone who’s always been an all-A’s student, seeing a B in the grade book was frightening. Semester two started off great, until the material started to get harder, and my grades started to slightly drop. My grades for algebra 2/ trig and chemistry eventually got down to a high B, despite me trying hard to get an A. This bothered me as I spent 80 % of my time, staying in my room, and doing homework till night. I found myself caught in a continuous cycle of wake up, school, homework, then going to sleep. As the material got harder, bass time got shorter. I felt like I was a robot programmed to work in front of a computer screen, without any freedom to play. During this time, I also rarely talked to anybody, unless it was about school. This period of time in what I call antisocial prison, lasted until the last few weeks of the school year. Nonetheless, I still persevered, and got through it.

In the end everything seemed bad, but in reality the good outweighed the bad. I learned that you sometimes need to stop, look, and appreciate the positive things before getting ahead of yourself. As I was going through the motions of the school year, I never acknowledged my achievements. When in truth, I achieved many accomplishments during quarantine like getting confirmed at my church, getting all A’s in first semester, learning the bass on my own, learning how to bake for the first time, and playing my first jam session. I even tried fishing, which was something I never considered. Overall, quarantine gave me a chance to focus on myself, and my ability to deal with obstacles. During this experience, I noticed that through all struggles, there was always some kind of reward at that end. For example getting used to computers, allowed me to become more fluent in technology. Getting B’s in my classes, taught me that not everything is about getting A’s. Being alone during quarantine helped me develop new hobbies, based on my choice, and not on someone else. All struggles of quarantine die when quarantine dies. Accomplishments on the other hand will always be remembered, for their positive effects. Moving forward, I will try to appreciate things more in life, as they are not always granted. I will continue to spend time with my family because they are always there for me, no matter what. Finally, I will live to the fullest because you never know when you will experience the strangest year of your life.