My Students’ Reflections on “A Day in my Life During Covid-19″ – Boston College High School

I am sharing some of my students’ writings on their life during Covid times.  I’d like to thank Oliva, Cora, and Educate Magis for sharing the global project “Global Student Stories Project A Day in my Life: living under the Covid-19 “ since I think the opportunity to reflect and write has also been therapeutic for our students.

Here are the reflection. I hope your students enjoy them!

 

A Day in my Life: Anonymous Student, 12, Boston College High School, USA

For the coronavirus outbreak quarantine in my country, we have been quarantined for a few months since the end of February. Now my daily routine is just staying home and doing school work and playing video games. My daily routine before the quarantine was to wake up at 4:35 every morning for school until 2:30 in the afternoon. Then I took the train and got home at around 5:15. So the quarantine did change my daily routine.

The challenges from the quarantine have been having to wipe down and sanitize everything that comes into our house and having to remember to keep a distance from people when I am outside.

Some of the gifts and graces from the quarantine are that my family gets to spend more time with each other, with my sisters coming back from college and my parents coming from work. The quarantine has really brought us together as a family.

The quarantine and coronavirus have made me think that from now into the future sanitizing and disinfecting everything is the new normal. Also, little things like shaking hands and being in a big crowd of people will never be the same again. And from watching the news I have learned that a lot of people are not obeying the quarantine and social distancing laws, and they are going nuts.

I think that society has learned from this crisis that diseases are not to be messed with, and that governments around the world need to examine people and the things they do more carefully. Some of my concerns are that the disease will be what brings down society. But my hope is that the disease will stop spreading rapidly and we will find a vaccine to cure it.

 

A Day in my Life: Nick, 13, Boston College High School, USA

I started BC High this past Fall. I was nervous starting a new school only knowing a few people. I soon met many people who I now call friends and fell into a regular routine. I woke up early ready to start the day and commute to school with my friend, John. We would get on the MBTA and ride across the city to school every morning.

Now, since the United States of America is shut down due to the Coronavirus, school is closed until next year. Though I miss commuting with my friend and going to school with my friends, I love the extra two hours of sleep. Now, my routine consists of waking up two hours later (not such a bad thing), sitting in the same spot (at my dining room table) for five hours a day learning remotely through my iPad.

Due to the guidelines and restrictions set by the state, I do not go outside as much as I used to. I find it bothersome to wear a mask because it fogs up my glasses. After I am done with school, I watch some videos from YouTube and eat a sandwich for lunch (usually a peanut butter and jelly, though I miss the food and socialization in the school cafeteria). Then, I go to the den to watch TV or play XBox with my friend Andrew.

This is also taking a toll on my friendships because we cannot communicate face to face or invite them over to hang after school. Around dinner time, I come upstairs to talk to my mom and dad and sometimes help cook dinner. I clear the table, take a shower, go to bed, and repeat the day all over just like the movie Groundhog Day.

 

A Day in my Life: Matty, 13, Boston College High School, USA

Hello, my name is Matty and I am a 7th grader in the Arrupe program at BCH and live in Weymouth, Massachusetts. My life changed a lot since the pandemic outbreak. First, I can finally get a normal amount of sleep. On a typical school day prior to the pandemic I would get up at five in the morning to take the 6 o’clock train. Now I get up at 7:30 in the morning for an 8:30 class. Second, I can go outside more often to play sports, bike ride, go on walks with my family and do yard work. This gives me a great opportunity to stay fit. Third, I feel more bored than ever before. I have school, then I do my homework and then I go outside. Most days I play basketball with my brother then we go for a bike ride or toss the baseball to each other. When I get bored doing that I go inside to play video games. Then I go outside again and realize I had already done everything outside so I go inside again to play video games but I already beat all of those, so I go to YouTube but my favorite YouTubers did not upload. It is just a cycle that leads to boredom.

I also have no motivator telling me to do my classwork as we are on Zoom and not in front of each other. I feel like we are living in the movie “Groundhog Day”; everything is the same. I also want to hang out with my friends but I can’t. I can’t go shopping, I can’t go to my newly built town baseball field and can’t snack whenever I want as my family can only go to the grocery stores once a week to prevent us from getting COVID. It seems like the world has changed a lot and I don’t like it!

 

A Day in my Life: Andrew, 13, Boston College High School, USA

My daily routine has been a lot easier. I do not have to get on the train at 6:40 in the morning and then get home at 5pm. There is a lot less stress about getting to school on time. I can just stay home go to school, do my homework and then play video games.

Life may be easier, but I really loved going to school and seeing my friends. It’s really not the same being stuck at home with my parents who are not my friends. I miss model railroad club and lunch with my friends the most. It’s harder not to be in direct contact with my teachers because I have missed several assignments because sometimes the assignments are unclear.

I really hope that we get to go back to school in September, but I am concerned that we will not. I am concerned that we will not have summer activities. I am concerned that the next time I see my friends won’t be until January. I am concerned that I might not learn as well next year if I can’t physically go to school. I am concerned that it might not be safe to take the train next year. I am concerned about my grandmother’s health and I hope to be able to see her sometime. My biggest hope is to be able to see my friends and go back to school.

 

A Day in my Life: Mateo, 13, Boston College High School, USA

In my country, the USA, people are dying of the Coronavirus. People are losing their jobs because there is not enough money to pay them.  This is because everyone has to stay home. In Massachusetts people are also dying.  People here also have to stay home.

The way that my routine has changed is by the fact that I can’t go to school.  I cannot take the bus or the train.  Instead I have to go to online classes each day except Wednesday.  I also can’t go to the playground, to church, or the store.

One challenge from this is that I have to be inside all day. This makes me feel sad because I want to be able to go outside when it is nice out.  When I can go outside I have to wear a mask.

One thing that is good that has came out of the quarantine is that I get to spend more time with my family.  I like to play with my brother Finn.  I would normally be at school working. I have also gotten to ride my bike more.

The Coronavirus has made me feel sad and scared because in the future if this happens again we might not be prepared.  I don’t think we were prepared because we didn’t have PPE and ventilators.  We should learn that we should be more prepared for something like this.  My concern is that the state may open too early and everyone will get sick a second time.

 

A Day in my Life: Liam, 13, Boston College High School, USA

When quarantine started my life changed because even though I try to stay happy and positive but then I realize many people are dying from this virus. As quarantine went on I realized the small things like how we are stopping some pollution which is helping the earth and how I get to spend so much time with the family I love. Even though I can’t talk to friends in person I can at least call them or text them to stay in touch.

During quarantine, I was able to discover hidden talents, like drawing, playing sports, and playing board games. As I realized these talents, sometimes they were fun but also boring some of the time. Many things have happened since quarantine, like we’re stopping pollution and creating new ways to create energy for houses and businesses. Even though this might last long we are all in this together which means we will be together.

 

A Day in my Life: Coleman, 13, Boston College High School, USA

Life during the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly been interesting for me. I have faced some highs and some lows along the way. In the United States each state had decided what to do on its own. My state of Massachusetts is in lockdown mode. You can still go outside and go to the grocery store but there are some precautions. You have to wear a mask whenever you leave your neighborhood and if you come to Massachusetts you have to quarantine yourself for two weeks. Some states in the United States are considering reopening but Massachusetts has not done that yet.

One thing that has  definitely  changed  for  me  during  these  confusing  times  is  my  daily routine.  Usually I will get out  of   bed  and  leave  for  school  at  six  am; now  I  wake  up  between seven and seven thirty. I would usually get home from school around 4pm; now I am done with school at  12:10  if   I  do  not  have  music  class. Classes are shorter  at  home  and  I  have more time to do things that I would normally not do  during a regular school day, such as watch TV  and  go  on  bike  rides. That is  a  comparison  about  how  my  life  has  changed  during  this pandemic.

Even though we are at home, COVID-19 has not been without its challenges. Some days you can get really  bored  and  your  family  can  irritate  you.  Also, sometimes you feel very alone during quarantine and you wish that you could see your friends again. Another bad thing about quarantine is that there are no sports and nothing big going on.

Those are the challenges and now here are some positives. One major positive about quarantine is sleeping in and having more time to yourself. You can do more projects around the house and you can bond together as a family.  You can start  up  some  fun  daily  traditions  such  as  playing  a  board  game  every  night with  your  family.  Those are some  positives  and  negatives  about  my  life  during  the  COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall I think our society has learned a lot of good and bad things from this pandemic. One thing that I think our society has learned is that we should be ready for anything. A lot of people did not know how we should handle this situation; they were very confused. Once we got this under  control  things  went  back  to  a  level  of   calm.  Businesses and  our  entire  country  have learned how we should handle this pandemic. That is what life is like for me during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

A Day in my Life: Payi, 13, Boston College High School, USA

On March 11th our school told us that they were canceling school for 2 days for a deep cleaning and I was expecting to go back to school next week. Today is May 17th and I still haven’t been back to school which seems kind of crazy. I haven’t seen my classmates and teachers for about 2 months. I haven’t seen my friends in a while. I’ve just been stuck in my house all day.

My family and I had to move back down to Cape Cod because my parents thought it was safer. I now take classes over Zoom which seems kind of strange. It’s weird to think about Facetiming with your teachers. I’m also kind of sad that school has to end like this. I’d rather be in school seeing my friends than having to only socialize through calling or “Zooming.”

I also really miss not having sports. I was looking forward for tryouts for tennis. But now I can’t even play tennis because the pandemic has gotten so bad. Overall I appreciate what I had before but I’m thankful that my family and friends are healthy. I’m looking forward to hopefully getting back to our old normal.

 

A Day in my Life: Sirewl, 13, Boston College High School, USA

My experience in quarantine is pretty relaxing. However, I miss school and I want to go back. BC High is something very special to me and it hurts me everyday being away from it. I honestly wish I could go back.

Life in quarantine is boring. I want to see my friends and actually play a sport against them competitively.  Instead I’m facing them on a video game console, which at first was great until I realized I miss actually playing.

One plus side to quarantine is I’m getting good at video games. Also during this quarantine, I have been eating a lot more fast food than usual. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not.  I also have been getting more sleep.  Something I do to stay active is workout with my ten-pound ball.  It makes things lighter and makes me feel stronger. Other than that I am just chilling like a villain during quarantine.

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