I am delighted to share the following student reflections, which have been submitted by my students as part of Global Student Stories Project A Day in my Life: living under the Covid-19 Pandemic. My students look forward to reading their peers’ reflections from other Jesuit schools around the world.

A Day in my Life, written by Aysan, 17, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

My typical day has changed significantly since the outbreak of COVID-19.

It has altered my daily routine in many ways. Before the outbreak, my daily routine consisted of waking up at 7 am and going to school. After school, I had sports practice at the YMCA and I would also coach youth basketball. Since the outbreak, all the students have been quarantined resulting in a cancellation of school, sports, and many other significant events in people’s lives.

It has been difficult and quite boring adjusting to a life where you aren’t always moving around, but confined in your home with your family. It has left many of us anxious, confused, and worried about what’s to come next.

As a senior in high school, many of us wonder whether we will have to cancel our graduation ceremony. My hope is for everything to go back to normal as quickly as possible and for everyone to stay healthy and safe. COVID-19 continues to spread to many parts of the world and has evolved to impact youth as well, which is concerning as a student. Our school, Bellarmine Preparatory, has adopted distance learning as an effective method to continue our education to the best of our ability.

A Day in my Life, written by Elliot, 17, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

During this COVID-19 outbreak that has been raging on, I turned this pandemic into a moment of opportunity. My daily schedules had been messed up and my final Senior season with my team seems to be entirely cancelled. But there is more to this Pandemic than what meets the eye.

For myself as a Senior, I thought that my senior year was going to be a breeze and that I wouldn’t have to worry and only wait on my colleges for decisions. Instead, I was greeted by more homework and tests with no motivation to do it. I was going downhill, and going downhill very fast. When COVID-19 hit Washington, our school shut down, and during this moment of seclusion I was able to recoup, reflect, and reorganize myself to begin online school work.

This event also provided me time to stay with my family and connect even more before I have to leave for college. If normal schedules were still dictated, I would have had only 2 weeks after graduation with my family before I would get dropped off at the United States Military Academy and begin summer training. Now, I’m able to get the most out of this pandemic to make sure that I am within the security of my family before I take my final leave.

I understand that this isn’t the most ideal situation for everyone. Especially those that hit close to home. But no matter how dark things may seem, there will always be a light to guide you through those dark moments. Please be safe, and my thoughts and prayers are out to those who have been affected by this virus.

A Day in my Life, written by Gabe, 17, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

As the sun shines through my room, I rub my eyes and start my day. This normally consist of scrolling through Instagram and Snapchat. I have thirty minutes until my first online class. I meander to my kitchen and make some toast. This quarantine hasn’t stopped life; it has just slowed life down.

Online classes fly by like a breeze. The sixty minutes a class that are put aside can normally be done in forty. School effectively ends at noon as I can finish the work later. I think about going outside to exercise… nah. I turn on the Playstation and grind at Minecraft.

In the afternoon, when the video games and television becoming mundane, I start working on my school work. With Advance Placement exams coming up in a month, I better be prepared. I study for some of my subjects such as economics, physics, and statistics with online videos. After I feel like I have accomplished something, I go back to the Playstation and continue working on my Minecraft world.

Sometime in the evening, my parents call me down for dinner, and my family and I have a good family meal. Discussions are almost always limited to Covid-19, but with only a few months left in the house, I cherish these times. After a few more hours on Netflix, I return to bed and plan on doing the same thing tomorrow.

A Day in my Life, written by Jackson, 18, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

As I sit in the same outfit I’ve been wearing for the past four days, I try to conjure up the words to describe how I’ve been living during this quarantine. I come up with one word, stuck. I’ve never felt more stuck in my life. Which has its positive and its negatives. Positives including being with my family. I really love my family so if I have to be stuck inside with anybody, I’m sure glad it’s them. I get to sleep until 9 which is nice. Gotten to catch up on some shows I’ve been wanting to binge watch. But if I’m being honest, that’s pretty much it. There’s not much of an upside to this quarantine. It’s no summer vacation, it’s no snow break. Still having school but at my own house, with my phone, video games, and tv at my disposal… doesn’t make for the best learning environment.

My lack of focus unsurprisingly resulted in me being very behind in each class. So I hope that this whole pandemic ends soon, but that of course is just a dream we all share right now, no one really knows how long this will last. A couple more weeks, a couple more months… God forbid a couple more years. But realizing that this is our reality makes me realize I need to shape up and work hard at home because it may become my high school for the remaining months. I plan on taking the weekend to get fully caught up in each class to make sure that I don’t get buried underneath all the assignments piling on top of me. And after I get myself situated, all I can do is hope that people infected will heal, that those who are healthy will stay that way, and the world may go back to normal.

A Day in my Life, written by Kelli, 16, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

My four white walls surround me. I am trapped both by the constraints of my house and within the technological void of my iPad. My typical day consists of online school. As eager teachers are to get back to their syllabus, classes have changed so drastically. Rather they consist of failed connections, miscommunication, and the questioning of our wellbeing.

My daily routine is waiting for the next meal, walking my dog, watching the news, trying to not spend hours scrolling through my phone, and studying. I am a very busy person, so going from the constant stress of school and extra curriculars to stuck in my room all day is a struggle. Not knowing what the outcome of the world will be is truly frightening. I am very fortunate because I am still having an education and I have the access to resources I need to get through this pandemic.

I am unsure if we will ever be going back to our normal routines in the near future, but I am grateful to be healthy with my family. My parents are taking the quarantine very seriously because my grandma lives with us. Her cancer makes her more susceptible to the virus, especially because she has risked going without chemo to not have to visit the hospital. Corona has uprooted the lives of all, including mine.

A Day in my Life, written by Maxx, 17, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

Bonjour le Monde!  When I first heard the dreaded, expected news that Bellarmine was closing due to the corona virus I was heartbroken.  My senior year lacrosse season was coming to an end before it even started.  If the virus continued spreading (which it is), then prom will be canceled along with graduation, senior trip, and nerf wars.  Everything that we’ve been waiting for these last 4 years is ending.  And it sucks.

For the first couple weeks out I was lethargic and spent my days barely trudging through my school work and doing nothing of importance. Eventually, however, I realized that this is a perfect opportunity for me to do the things that I was never able to do before because I was “too busy”.

Thus, I started learning French.  When you have a passion for something it comes much easier and you have a much stronger motivation to achieve it, and that’s my case. Every day I begin with online learning of common phrases and vocab and am working on expanding my speaking skill set.  The hardest part in doing things is simply getting started so while I have many other things that I also could be working on, I’m really grateful that I was able to take this time in exploring a new language.  I keep picturing myself in the Latin quarter in Paris meeting people and having the time of my life, all while speaking fluent French.  While it is in some ways both a small and a big goal, I can’t wait to see where it takes me.  In terms of school activities, there’s nothing I can do to control the situation besides staying home and making use of what I have.  Profiter du présent!

A Day in my Life, writen by Regan, 16, Bellarmine Preparatory School, USA

Splashed across our television and newspaper happens to be a crippling fear to which I am unable to be granted participation. Despite the warnings and the self-quarantine, I must not let fear rot my mind, for although I cannot leave the house, I am still expected to attend school. Routines of the past three years have been smashed to ruin as I now plant myself at a blue light screen an hour later than usual, to attend video-chat classes with peers whose hair is still crumpled by the pillows they lounge on.

Most days, I follow a simple algorithm: wake up, go to school, lunch, finish school, homework, workout, and then wind down for dinner and sleep. Mirroring the lack of freedom, my days on paper appear to be devoid of excitement. The routine does not appear to include the vast amounts of time spent reading books and trying to beat my record of how fast I can read. This outline does not include the classic Disney puzzle that my family is struggling to finish. In all actuality, this is not any excitement. It pales in comparison to the stage lights that I had experienced days prior to being locked down. I guess this is new excitement for a new routine.

Bleak is the main word I would use to describe the world right now. The prospects of losing friends and loved ones eggs the back of my mind. The unknown and uncertainty pulls my senses into tense ropes. I can only hope that this swirling storm has a rainbow at the end, a Disney ending for a harsh reality check.