Not enough coffee, too little routine
I can still remember the “I miss you” texts that lit up my phone as soon as everyone got the schoolwide email telling students and staff that we would not be returning.
The shutdown was supposed to last a week. It’s been months now. During my first week of quarantine, I was overwhelmed with shock, bouncing between early morning grocery runs and uncertainty about what would come next.
But soon the weekly assignments in Google Classroom began to pop up. And I learned something surprising: My school may have closed its doors, but distance learning opened up new possibilities. I’m self-sufficient in a way I never experienced before.
My traditional sleep schedule — early to bed and early to rise — is gone, transformed by midday naps. Now I stay awake past midnight, but I wake up around 9:30 a.m. to drink a cup of coffee and write down all my daily assignments in my agenda. On average, an online school day for me is three to four hours of school work and about one hour of studying and preparing for Advanced Placement exams. I have more free time now.
Sometimes my brain feels as crowded as my desk, and some days I battle procrastination and anxiety. But I try to stay organized and I set aside time to do things that I love. For example, I’ve realized I enjoy making coffee almost as much as I like drinking it. It’s a small part of my day, but brewing coffee and reading in the morning is really therapeutic.
Distance learning hasn’t been a significant struggle for me because I’m used to working alone and being responsible for my studies at school. I’m lucky enough not to have to work, to take care of siblings or to help provide for my family. Other students where I live face financial hardships or don’t have a stable home life that puts education first. There is a lesson to be learned in this pandemic: Not all students’ needs are being met.
Since quarantine began, I’ve read 24 books, gone through almost three packs of coffee, and spent hours playing late-night video games with friends.
But I know I’m fortunate. I’ll get up tomorrow, a little later than I used to. But I’m learning.