Quarantine was a major struggle for me. At the beginning it seemed fun, we had two weeks off of school and it seemed like the greatest moment of our lives. Until the realization hit, life was about to change for the worst. 2 weeks turned into 1 month, 1 month turned into a year, and I am sitting here today writing this from my bed. Covid had changed my whole life. Everyday was a struggle to motivate myself and get myself up to do work, towards the beginning of the school year I wasn’t active, faked a smile, and I felt so depressed. I felt like I had no one. It was not until I got the word that I was able to go back to school to do activities and see friends that I had felt joy. The joy overwhelmed me with excitement, I hadn’t seen people in forever.

Being without people for a long time, especially loved friends can be really hard. Trust me I’ve been through it many, many times. This year was a big year for friends. Honestly, it was a test to see who was really there for me. I auditioned for Troubadours the beginning of quarantine and made it. It was very intimidating because I didn’t know anyone in the group. I was excited though. I’m so glad to be able to call this group of people my family. I didn’t get really close to any of them until the end of the school year but it feels like I’ve known them for like FOREVER. This year I lost many friends, but I also rekindled and made so many new ones that adore, cherish, and love me. I will forever be grateful for the friendship opportunities that Covid had brought to me.

Speaking of opportunities, I was able to perform a show this year! Every year the Fountain Valley Vocal Music Program hosts and broadway show where we sing and dance, and even through all this craziness, we were able to perform. In the first half of the show we did a mix of many musicals, and I was able to open the show with a solo! Crazy right! The second half of the show we did the musical, “Songs for a New World”, by Jason Robert Brown. I had a solo in this half as well. It’s so crazy to me that I am so comfortable performing now because growing up I had the worst stage fright and fear that I was going to mess up and embarrass myself. I think it’s still my biggest fear but I had such an amazing time performing with a group that I love so it was really easy for me to open up and sing my heart out on that stage. All the nerves disappeared. This opportunity made my school year and year in general so much better. I was able to do the thing I love most, singing, with the people I love most. It was an amazing experience and I would give my life to live it all again.

This school year was really rough for me mentally, but I was able to persevere and make the best out of it. I was able to get a 4.3 my first semester of sophomore year which is crazy to me because my freshman year I could barely get a 4.0. Im so proud of my accomplishments and perseverance because this year was so tough. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my friends. They are so amazing and I am so grateful for every single one of them. They have helped me stay in check and have helped me with so much its crazy. But mostly, I want to thank myself because I’m so proud of myself for accomplishing the greatest and working my hardest, never giving up. I took 8 classes this year a 0-7 period. That being said I am super duper happy this year is over with and I am able to move past this and strive to work even harder next year.

The advice I would give myself, is to never give up and work hard. But most importantly, have fun! I feel like fun is so underrated in high school. Everyone is constantly caught up in AP’s, studying for SAT/ACT, doing all this stuff. Even though that is important, I think it’s important to take a break sometimes, relax, and have fun. My parents are really strict so it’s hard to have fun when I’m constantly being told that fun isn’t good for me and school is my whole life. It’s really hard. SO future me, make the most out of your junior and senior year. You’ll never be able to experience that ever again.

Lastly, I want to thank all the teachers that have dealt with the pandemic and have made sure that we, the students, are okay and that we are doing well. I would especially like to thank my English and Choir teacher. My English teacher has made sure that we had a fun year learning about important topics while also making sure that we constantly are mentally in check and that we aren’t feeling down. I will forever be grateful for the joy he has brought to my face every other day even though we were on zoom the whole year. I would also like to thank my choir teacher, he has made my year filled with fun and opportunities that have made me year so much better.

That being said, peace out! That was a pretty hectic year!