THE WILDCAT DIGITAL HISTORY PROJECT
~GENUINE PANDEMIC VIBES~
Grade 11
This project is a small sample of reflections written by high school students that address their personal and various concerns, feelings, and situations. These reflections also joined by news articles or other sources that provide context for how their unique experiences 'fit in' with the general population's experience.
DIRECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
These contributions have been directed by this specific project and its prompts. Prompts provided to assist in the below reflections are copied in the ‘Contact’ section below. It is encouraged for you to respond to these prompts to fully appreciate the purpose of this project.
Tags: Anxiety / Uncertainty
Though the few months I have spent in relative isolation, I have found that I hold a narrow view of the future. Like many, I always make plans and I have dreams. Before the pandemic, I knew I would have an increase in my working hours and a hot girl summer. Now, it is absurdly clear how impossible it is to know what my future holds. I’ve always recognized that I cannot plan the future, but I believed I could set plans to the future. This pandemic slapped me in the face and punched me in the gut when it became evident that actually, I can’t. My before-pandemic plans and ideas were not simply altered or postponed but rather deleted and most things I knew have become wrapped in real uncertainty. If you wear glasses, you know it can be scary to walk around a room without them on. I’ve become very anxious because most things feel like walking in an unfamiliar, dark room without my glasses.
he Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) has stated that the need for mental health assistance during the Covid-19 crisis. Read the PDF here. American highschoolers will make up a significant number of complaints for symptoms of anxiety due to the restriction from social and physical activities coupled with stress of continued school requirements. Read an EdSource article here.
Tags: Education
As a junior, the postponement of SAT and ACTs may give me a disadvantage in my college application process. I study for the SAT starting 2 months before my test date – the new dates in the fall have rocked my schedule a bit as now I will most likely be studying for standardized tests while simultaneously working on college applications and completing my summer credit programs.
Most universities put a great deal of weight on an applicant’s SAT/ACT score as it provides a ranking status for the university and allows admission offices to filter and compare applicants by the values a standardized test provides.1 As a result, students hoping to attend university should put effort into study and practice for the exams.2
Tags: Remote Work
From an academics standpoint, I believe I am doing slightly better. I have been able to adapt to working on homework at home, and with the environment lending itself better to my preferred work environment (place to do laps, no distracting noise) I feel like I am doing slightly better.
From a fitness standpoint, I have been mostly working out with my mom since my swim team cannot meet for practice. I feel like I am working out more than I did before the pandemic, but I am a little irritated with my mom for driving me into the ground daily!
Remote work has been a slow but increasing trend, and assessments of remote workers businesses often come to the conclusion that “it works for some, but not for all.” The APA addresses remote work as having “small but tangible benefits;” often surveys find an increase in efficiency and in small groups, also increases in the employees’ reported well-being. See also
Tags: Relationships
As a human being, I am doing very well right now. I believe that, out of my peers, I have the unique situation of being able to live and interact with my parents for very long periods of time. Our family is very introverted, and each of us would prefer, with a few exceptions, to talk with each other than literally anyone else. Well, that’s my take on it anyway.
The end of school is wearing on me, but I am doing very well.
A comprehensive study on the nurture-structure role of parents can be found here. Essentially, a balanced relationship of affection and control between child and parent will assist the household in developing good behavior and positive coping mechanisms.
INDIRECT CONTRIBUTIONS
These contributions have been gathered from an archive being developed by the New York Times. Find the reflection's specific source link by clicking on the contributor's name. These reflections were in response to the prompt “How is the Coronavirus outbreak affecting your life?” At the bottom of this page, this project has prompts for a direct contribution. It is encouraged for you to respond to one or more prompts to fully appreciate the purpose of this project.
EDUCATION & REMOTE WORK
Distance-learning has been extensively implemented nationwide, and the success of working from home varies with each individual due to their environment, internet access, and personality. To read a larger collection of responses from students K-12 on how they felt to work from home, click here. For those where distance learning is difficult, procrastination and lack of focus is a common complaint. Multiple studies have linked procrastination not to being lazy, but often lack of motivation stems from a person’s emotional regulation. It’s not surprising that changes to a work environment, changes to curriculum, and changes to daily routine would directly influence a student’s efficiency.
Alexen from Lawrence, Massachusetts
The Coronavirus outbreak has affected me in multiple ways at once, that were mostly internal. Everything is done online but otherwise the same now, and it feels strange. I personally have to do 2-3 hours of work a day instead of the usual 8 hours (including homework), and it feels more tiring somehow. I'm in the comfort of my home all the time, but have to do this for a few hours, and it feels much more monotonous than 8 hours in a classroom, and that's what everybody has been doing for a lot of their life. But in that sense, it also feels a lot calmer not being around people constantly, having anxiety and autism. The people in classrooms are insane. It didn't affect my life negatively by much, but it really makes me think. If the school system were like this in the near future, I think it would be much more sustainable, in many ways.
Ella Fredrikson from Glen Ellyn, IL
Although I could list all the negatives that come with Covid-19, being a junior in high school, this quarantine has been a really nice calm break from a life that seemed to never stop. A break from 35 hour school weeks along with 15 hours worth of work, being able to sit down and do hobbies I missed is something I am really appreciating. I miss my friends, obviously, but to almost quite literally stop time, is better than most are making it out to be.
Larisa from California
Covid-19, most popularly known as the corona virus, has completely flipped my life around. Like most juniors in high school, I had most of the rest of my school year and summer planned out. Taking 3 AP classes, I had the schedule of studying and learning planned out to the day in some of those classes and that was the fool proof plan some of my teachers took in order to help us achieve a 5 on AP exams as this is the last year colleges will fully look at. However, because of the corona virus, my teachers were not able to fully cover our material in preparation for the AP exam and now it looks like the won’t get the chance to. Although we do have online school now, it is not the same. Working from home is worse as I don’t care to admit, my work habits from home are not the best. I am easily able to procrastinate at home and having class in bed is not the best idea. Plus, I can no longer get the one on one help teachers provide if needed. I took rigorous classes and spent all of my junior year stressing over them only for it to be cut short and not even fully cover it? In conclusion, I truly hope Covid-19 disappears so I, like many other students can go back to normalcy, and seniors will be able to enjoy the true joys of senior such as prom, grad nite, and graduating on stage.
Scoring well on Advanced Placement exams are advertised to help students earn placement or course credit when applying to colleges. 2020 AP exams taken online had frustrating consequences.
UNCERTAINTY & ANXIETY
Most traditional highschool events (prom, graduation) have been postponed if not outright cancelled. For many, losing an event that was going to happen is confusing and frustrating - If you are also struggling with cancellations and loss of plans, you’re not alone. Stress and confusion is normal. Visit helpguide.org for a brief article on coping with general feelings of stress. Furthermore, depressive symptoms and the need for mental health professionals in youth have been rising before Covid-19 across the board, most relevantly, to students without consistent school attendance. Highschoolers with persistent mental health problems or in a potentially dangerous household are at a high risk for additional mental struggles and a lack of support school and activity used to provide. Additional sources A and B.
Cesar in Los Angeles
This is a very unique situation we're in, my life is for sure being impacted by this corona virus. The mayor of L.A. and governor of the state California has issued an order as to not leave your homes if it's not necessary. Most parks, Beaches, and even non-essential stores are closed until further notice. I haven't been outside my house in over a week, just staying at home, doing whatever to pass the time, sleep, play video games, eat, exercise indoors. My school have been pushing me to do the work online, I've been in touch with my friends and talking to them about the situation and how it impacted them and even asked them how they're doing mentally and the felling is mutual, Confused. We don't know what the near future holds for us a and we for sure don't know how to handle this current situation. Although I'm an easy going guy, even this situation has made me concerned although I would like to be optimistic and say the situation will get better That being said, there are two main reasons that it seems horrible. The first of which being the timing of this all. As a High School senior, this quarantine has seemed to just chop off the fun part of our senior year. We had made it so far, and were so close to getting to experience all of the exciting events and traditions set aside for seniors. This includes our graduation, prom (which is a seniors only event at my school), senior picnic, theme weeks, and much more.
Caileigh Robinson in Bellingham, Washington
I struggle a lot with mental health. I have had depression and ptsd, as well as anxiety for years. Seeing people outside of my family is what keeps me sane, especially those closest to me. Having to FaceTime my therapist is weird and scary. Things are so different now, and I'm slowly losing motivation. My thoughts recently have been "don't think about it" when I think of how long this could possibly last. I am scared for my grandparents, who live across the country. I feel like I haven't spent enough time with them and I'm losing my chance. Everything is weird. I can't find a better way to describe it without being negative. This is a really strange time and I don't like it. I'm trying my hardest to stay positive but that has never been one of my strong suits.
Brenda Kim from Valencia High School
Yesterday my school district announced that our school would be closed until May 5. Upon receiving the email, I immediately contacted my friends to share our responses. To most of my friends and me, this news was no surprise. Already finishing week one of quarantine, I find myself in a state of pessimism in regards to life in the midst of a pandemic. My days have blurred into Google Classroom assignments, hobby seeking, aimless searching on Netflix, and on exceptionally boring days, existential contemplation.
The dichotomy of chance freedom from school and yet the discombobulated feelings of helplessness and loneliness plague my time home alone. My parents are yet working and as an only child, I try my best to stay sane with blasting music and shows. Other times I call my friends to pass the time doing school assignments. Even then, schoolwork seems increasingly pointless.
With most of my classes being APs, the recent CollegeBoard update for the 2020 AP exams was a blow to my educational motivation. I am naturally a driven, passionate learner with intense intellectual curiosity. But in the midst of this chaos, I can't help feeling like all the assignments from my classes are just busywork. I manage to stay afloat, keeping in mind that everyone is doing their best. Despite no ostensible end in sight, I hope this quarantine brings out the best in me, in society, and in nature.
ROUTINE
Following social distancing guidelines requires students to stay at home as much as possible in order to limit exposure to those potentially infected and high-risk individuals. As social gatherings are postponed, students rely much more on technology to stay in touch with friends and complete schoolwork. It can be frustrating and stressful, and as noted under the header for Uncertainty & Anxiety, restriction to the household will affect parent-child relationships.
Ellen Phillips from Hoggard
To say that this virus has completely changed my day to day living would just be an understatement. I went from having things to do from 7:20am to 8:45pm every week day to absolutely nothing. The whole month of March was going to be booked as well. I had activities such as the Wilmington Marathon that I work at and the Masters Swim meet that I was going to volunteer for. Then I had a club swim meet but everything got canceled. Everything that I was looking forward to just came to a halt and nothing is going to be postponed, just canceled. I am trying to keep myself busy by doing small projects and working out, but I never thought that I would be living and having to deal with a pandemic as crazy as this is. Everyone is starting to go crazy with the amount of time we are spending with their families, I would just like to go to the beach and get ice cream again...
Marlin Flores from Classical High School
The coronavirus hasn't really affected me as much as it has with others. Yes, many places closed, but it's not like I went out much anyways. Crowds (now of 5-10+ people) should be avoided because of the virus, which I already do because of my anxiety. Something that was affected in my life was my weekday routine, consisting of going to school and being able to see and spend time with my friends before going home. Now, I'm only able to interact with them through a screen, but that doesn't bring me as much happiness as it would if I were with them in person. An upside to these past weeks of quarantine is being able to see my usually busy family more, especially my father. I've had more talks and laughs with my family the last few days than I've had in the past couple of months, which helped lighten such a stressful time in my opinion.
CONTACT
I believe mindful reflection is one of the best ways to help yourself feel more secure and less confused in stressful situations. I encourage you to practice self-reflection, and if you feel comfortable in sharing your thoughts with the DH website please complete a submission form.
Choose a prompt to address:
1a. Have you or your family members noticed a change in your attitude or habits due to isolation?
1b. Has this situation encouraged confidence and productivity in academics or fitness?
2a. As a highschooler, have you experienced a change in your ability to complete assignments or focus?
2b. Has the transition to online platforms raised any challenges or provided any advantages?
3. Reflect on your personal well-being: Do you feel secure, confident, able?