If you had told me eight months ago that we would still be struggling through this pandemic, I probably would have laughed. How could a disease be that bad? Yes, it’s spread quickly across the world, but surely we would have been able to get around it and return back to normal by now. Now, I’m not sure if there ever will be a normal again.

This pandemic has greatly impacted me over the last eight months. I have grown to appreciate so much that I took for granted. I have learned how to build and maintain relationships with my friends and family without being able to see them face to face. I have learned how to keep up with social obligations and commitments while dealing with restrictions. I have learned how to manage two different workplace environments. But, most importantly, I have learned how to manage a stressful school situation and overcome the challenges COVID-19 has inflicted on my education.

I never truly understood how difficult not being in school everyday, not seeing all of my friends, and my junior year during a pandemic would be until the end of this year’s first week of school. I missed my friends. I already felt detached from school, not being anchored by a 5 day-a-week in-person schedule, and my class load wasn’t going to help either. E-learning made it hard to grasp material and stay focused on the subject at hand. Sean Conway’22 agreed. “In-person learning is the best way to learn,” he said. “I understand the material better because I can easily ask questions. School is more than taking notes or completing assignments; the social aspect of school is extremely important as well.” 

Those first couple of weeks were rough. I tried to force myself to adjust, rather than let it come to me, and this caused a lot of additional stress. Overall, things weren’t looking good for me. 

Finally, the adjustment came. I got used to the workload, I figured out how to interact with my friends, and I was able to adjust to the original green and gold schedule. Other obstacles have come up since then, however; each time I had something I didn’t have before – my ability to adapt. Granted, I had been adapting all summer and the latter part of the previous school year but, in retrospect, those first weeks demanded much more creativity and perseverance. 

The teachers at Saint Patrick helped a great deal as well. They have been understanding and accommodating because they are going through the same thing. “The teachers have been really supportive,” freshman Joshua Angulo said. Despite the difficulty of coming to a new school and learning how high school works, Joshua feels the teachers have been helpful and considerate. “They make me enjoy coming to school.” 

My biggest take away from this unprecedented experience has been learning to adapt. There have been many problems and adversity that have come out of this pandemic. Whether it was school or not being able to see friends, the pandemic hasn’t allowed life to continue in the way we are used to. In this way, it taught me valuable lessons. I had to learn to make things work, to have fun, to learn, all while being confined to very specific rules. 

Because I was able to learn and adapt to such harsh conditions, I am more confident in my ability to handle future challenges as I go through college and become an adult. I am excited to see what my future holds knowing that, even as obstacles come up, I will be able to handle them with the skills I have learned through living in a pandemic world.