The start of my freshman year thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic has been unexpected to say the least. I have always looked forward to high school, but I had no idea that it would turn out to be what it is like now.

The first few weeks of school were both in some ways easy and difficult at the same time. I am not the best when it comes to using computers, so naturally I struggled with adjusting to this new virtual working environment. After the first few weeks of online school my limitations were put to the test; everything was a little overwhelming.

Online school has not been what I consider ideal. My workload is constantly piling up to the point that I have to do assignments over the weekend. Sometimes I work right up until the point I go to bed, and there is barely any downtime.

One of the complications that has happened over the past few weeks includes my computer freezing during a test and not being able to unmute during the Google Meet to let somebody know. In addition, while I was in a Google Meet, my device underwent a surprise upload and crashed. It would not let me click on or open anything, so I had to pull out my really old computer and attempt to complete my work for the rest of the day.

Although there have been many struggles over the past few weeks, high school has not been all that bad. My teachers are encouraging and helpful. I have also been able to spend quality time with my family, because my schedule has been a little more flexible.

The ability to replay recordings of Google meets and being able to see a list of each deadline for my assignments has been extremely beneficial as well. It even makes some of my tasks easier to manage.

One of the things that keeps me going during this time of crisis is looking forward to the day that we finally get to return to in person learning. I know that it will not really be the same as before, but I am hoping that going back will feel more natural and help reduce some of my stress. 

Something else that I am excited about is being able to interact with others. I know there are ways to digitally stay connected, but it is just not the same as meeting people in person. At this point, I do not know many of my classmates. I am hoping that returning may change this, and possibly let me make a new friend.

Despite us going back in person on October 13 I know that virtual learning will still be a large part of our curriculum. What we consider as normal has changed. We just need to keep adapting and tackling each new challenge with determination.