Hera are more reflections from my students as part of the global project “A Day in my Life: living under the Covid-19 Pandemic.” We hope you and your students enjoy reading them! To see all reflections shared so far go to the Educate Magis Covid-19 page

A Day in my Life: Joe, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8 Reflection

I think that this is a season for learning not to take our gifts for granted. Everything from how lucky I am to be live in a financially secure family during this economic downturn, to how much I appreciate my friends, to how lucky I am to live in a country that is prioritizing the well-being of its citizens. While loneliness and isolation are both negative and painful symptoms of this season, I do not believe that they are the takeaways. Next season will be one of gratitude; when we can go out with our friends again, spirits will be high and hope with be abundant. I look forward to sharing that season with the people that I care about. We as a community, nation, and world, are ready to come together like never and appreciate what we have and to care for those who have less.

A Day in my Life: Jon, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

A right time to love and another to hate.

During this time, I have been wondering why this pandemic has happened at this time. I hate that it had to happen during my second semester of senior year in high school where I was going to enjoy the company of my classmates around me in class. There is a high chance that I will never see most of these people again in the future. The classroom environment is what makes a class memorable but only being able to listen to the teacher talk online is just like watching a video instead of being a part of the classroom environment. Being in the classroom allows people to talk to one another and just be able to enjoy each other’s presence. Since were in quarantine, no one has been able to see each other and just be able to enjoy each other’s presence.

But I believe that God always has a reason for whatever happens. This was meant to happen at this time because something good will eventually come out of this. God gave families the time to enjoy each other’s presence because some families don’t ever get the time to be with one another. Now that families have the time, they can spend quality time with one another. Families get to watch movies or shows together, they get to play games with each other, and just simply laugh and enjoy time together. This is the time to love.

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

A Day in my Life: Jonah, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

The season that I am in right now is like an antisocial winter season (so first semester finals season): I would say the closest comparison of this season to the verse is a right time to embrace and another to part. That is, I feel trapped inside and not able to talk to other people. I miss the physical aspect of life and there is a ridiculous amount of family time during this season. Moreover, I think this is the season to really buckle down on the things which I need to get done (aka embrace late work). This season normally feels like you are almost there, like you are almost on Christmas Break, but you just have to finish strong; this is the case now too (aka a right time to part). Furthermore, everyone gets sick in the first semester finals season and everyone is getting sick now (globally).

The season that I expect to go from here based on the verses is a right time to lament and another to cheer. That is, I feel feelings of nostalgia going into the summer before college because I am under the realization that I’m no longer a kid sheltered under the roof of my parents. Due to this, I keep having flashbacks from when I was a kid and all of the good memories I have had. On the other hand, the next season for me is also a time to cheer. I am on a new journey in my life with plenty to learn, do, and see. I will meet new people, and these next four years will be some of the most formative years of my life. It is my impression that I decide what I will do with these next four years and whether I want to really utilize/make the most of them. This feeling, almost an ecstasy from the amount of possibilities possible, is a time for me to cheer.

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

A Day in my Life: Josiah, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

The current season I’m in is the season of new beginnings. The current pandemic has allowed many new resources to become common in our day to day lives. Such resources include distance learning and/or working from home. The phrase “There is a time to love and a time to hate” represents the current situation perfectly. In a time when everyday new predictions and unbelievable data are released, love is needed more than anything.

Where I expect to go is a place where I am experiencing life to the fullest. This pandemic shows just how short life really is and how much everyone should enjoy it. The phrase “A right time to search and another to count your losses” represents my future. I want to be in a place where I am searching instead of dwelling on what I’ve lost.

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

A Day in my Life: Luke, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

There’s a Right Time for Everything

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

A right time for birth and another for death,

A right time to plant and another to reap,

A right time to kill and another to heal,

A right time to destroy and another to construct, A right time to cry and another to laugh, A right time to lament and another to cheer,

A right time to make love and another to abstain,

A right time to embrace and another to part,

A right time to search and another to count your losses, A right time to hold on and another to let go,

A right time to rip out and another to mend,

A right time to shut up and another to speak up,

A right time to love and another to hate,

A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

The season I would describe that I am in is “A right time to destroy and another to construct.” I chose this quote out of the passage There’s a Right Time for Everything and I believe this lists all emotions of positive and negative. Right now, in the world it feels like the world is being destroyed and everyone is being stripped of things that make all of us who we are. But I think in the long run this will serve as a very valuable learning lesson about perseverance and everyone coming together for the greater good. I also believe that now that we have been given a lot more “free time”, even though we are in quarantine, everyone should work on being there best self to make the most positive impact they can in the world.

A Day in my Life: Luke 1, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

I’m sorry for the late submission on this assignment, but some news that came out on Wednesday helped solidify what season I’m in, so there is some good that came out of my procrastination. Yesterday, Bernie Sanders suspended is campaign for the Democratic Nomination. This was especially heartbreaking after his early victories in the primary and the way the DNC coalesced around Biden before Super Tuesday. To me and many others, he was the only candidate who stood a chance of winning the election in November and the only one who had policies of making this country more equal for all people. I don’t believe Biden will be able to be Donald Trump, and even if he did, I don’t believe he’ll try to enact the changes that are necessary for America right now.

This season I’m in caps off the one I’ve been in since the coronavirus hit, a season of lamentation. A season to think about what I want, and what others need. And I hope to be able to move from this season to another one, a more active, productive season. A season of getting involved with organizations that are fighting for change, a season of donating my money and time to others, a season of fighting to make this world a better place. Call it a season to wage war or a season to plant seeds, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want it to be a season of change.

A Day in my Life: Marcus, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

I’m sorry for the late submission on this assignment, but some news that came out on Wednesday helped solidify what season I’m in, so there is some good that came out of my procrastination. Yesterday, Bernie Sanders suspended is campaign for the Democratic Nomination. This was especially heartbreaking after his early victories in the primary and the way the DNC coalesced around Biden before Super Tuesday. To me and many others, he was the only candidate who stood a chance of winning the election in November and the only one who had policies of making this country more equal for all people. I don’t believe Biden will be able to be Donald Trump, and even if he did, I don’t believe he’ll try to enact the changes that are necessary for America right now.

This season I’m in caps off the one I’ve been in since the coronavirus hit, a season of lamentation. A season to think about what I want, and what others need. And I hope to be able to move from this season to another one, a more active, productive season. A season of getting involved with organizations that are fighting for change, a season of donating my money and time to others, a season of fighting to make this world a better place. Call it a season to wage war or a season to plant seeds, it doesn’t matter to me. I just want it to be a season of change.

A Day in my Life: Noah, 17, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

“A right time to hold on and another to let go.”

When I read the principal’s email that we would not be completing this school year, I was numb. I knew I should be sad, but I guess that I hadn’t processed and felt the impact of what is happening. This season for me is the season to hold on. As I laid down, I started to think about Bellarmine and the last four years. I never do this, but as I found out we will not return to campus, I decided it was time to digest. I started to think of the memories, people, and activities that shaped me and my time at Bellarmine. I thought of the lows, the times that really sucked, which I could learn from. I thought about the new things that I got involved in track, radio, clubs. I realized how different my time was because I stepped out of my comfort zone. I didn’t always have the most friends, but I am thankful for the many I met. I realized that people aren’t always the nicest, but some are genuinely nice and seek to put a smile on your face. My time would have been so much different if I hadn’t have met Dylan, who I realized was one of the few people who shared the same interests but was so nice and supportive always. It was people like him, and a very few others, who taught me that its not the quantity of friends, but the quality of the friendships. Over the 4 years, I have met so many incredible people. I lastly thought about the highs: my first day, making the soccer team, going to WE day and meeting Natalie Portman, the various summer schools where I worked with my friends, going to league finals for track, getting that acceptance letter, going to Boston in the summer and meeting friends that I will never forget. I was sad because these were things that I missed. As much as I want to hold on to these, I have to move on and let go. There were other things that I want to hold on to: the idea of graduation and prom. I have to let go because those are things I cannot change. It is really hard to accept, but everyone goes different ways in life, and I have to say bye sooner than later.

The new season I enter is one of letting go and writing a new chapter in my life. I have to let go because life is changing. Holding on will just make me sad and make me miss people more and more. If I do this, I will fail to see the good things that there are. I have to let go because I am going to go to a new city and make it my new home, I am going to meet new people. I will miss the brotherhood of Bellarmine but seek to find my new family at Northeastern. I can still hold onto my relationships and memories but cannot dwell about these. It is also a time to let go of the grudges and things in my head that anchor me down. These people who I didn’t get along with are out of my life, I cannot keep hating them; instead I should just wish them good luck. Letting go frees me up to write a new story in my life.

Ecclesiastes 3:2-8

A Day in my Life: Sam, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

There is a time to cry, and there is a time to laugh. Right now, we are in a time to cry.

After learning that we are not going back to school this year, I was unfazed, because I had expected as much. However, the longer I stay inside my house, and the more and more online classes I take, I begin to realize that this is a real thing. My high school graduation really did get taken away. My last Varsity season of baseball got taken away from me. My friends that I may never see again got taken away from me. Nothing about this situation is ideal, but we have to remember that this situation helps us look back on the good times that we had.

If we constantly have laughs and fun, it becomes the normal. We would never understand what it would be like if it were taken away from us. With this virus, we have gotten our freedom taken away, which makes us appreciate more and more the times when we had it. Though this may be the time to cry, it does not mean that we cannot look back on the memories that we had. During these times, I try my best to remember all the greatest moments of high school. The past four years of my life were some of the best that I’ve had, and the ones that I will always remember. Therefore, I love to scroll through my memories in my camera roll and find all the funniest times from when we could laugh. This makes it easier to move forward towards the next stage of my life, and prepare for the happy times to come back.

A Day in my Life: Sutter, 18, Bellarmine College Preparatory, USA

“A right time to plant and another to reap”

It’s hard to see your future when your right in the middle of making it happen. Obviously, finishing high school is a jumping off point, but it’s hard to see where you’ll land. I’m doing a garden project for Botany, and already my sunflowers are popping up. In some ways, my life right now feels like planting. I can’t see what will come later and it’s hard to imagine. It’s impossible to see from where I am now and being stuck at home makes everything even harder to see. However, it will happen eventually. But the waiting is hard. Reaping means to harvest, so it’s good to think that all of high school was planting and college will be more like harvesting those seeds, but it may just be more planting. Eventually, I’ll get there, but for now I have more planting to do.