In a time when we are all adjusting to these new normals that we will begin to call life for the next few months, many aspects of this crazy situation still don’t even feel real! With my sister going to college in LA and my dad constantly traveling for work, I would say I was quite independent before COVID-19 ensnared the world. While I love my family, I also love my alone time, and I enjoy going out, doing small things solo that make me feel like an adult. From going to RIDE classes every Saturday morning, just me, myself, and I; to sitting in Starbucks grinding on the hours of homework piled onto my schedule for the weekend. I enjoyed feeling as if I had a sense of independence in the bubble of the Woodlands. However, as we all know, that came to a crashing halt the moment I arrived back from our spring break trip to Boston.

The hectic few days of trying to organize how life would continue online, desperately trying to organize my sister a flight home, searching for storage units in LA, and just coming to terms with this new reality was definitely a curveball! On March 14th I thought I would be waking up bright and early for my SAT, which I had been preparing for months for. Instead, I slept in till 11:49am, woken up only to be reminded of all those hours I spent in preparation for this one day to be almost wasted. Trying to adjust to online school, in simple terms, is absolutely bizarre. Although I would compliment myself with having quite high motivation, I have felt nothing but lazy and passive towards schoolwork. Not having separation between school and home, and not having a set schedule that I am required to follow is very, very peculiar. While I do enjoy not having to wake up before the sun rises everyday, the daily commute from my bed to my desk just does not cut it.

My sister, Anna, was having the time of her life as a freshman at UCLA. From beach days with friends, to frat parties, to walks through BelAire, I can safely say having to move back home and finish her semester quarantined in the house was not what she desired. On the other hand, my mom is definitely loving having everyone cocooned at home. I’m not going out with my friends every weekend, my sister is no longer thousands of miles away, and my dad is working from home. The situation does have a silver lining, in that we are spending lots of quality time together. The question is, when will that become too much time!