Life during the time of the coronavirus has been incredibly different from anything that I have ever experienced in my life. I haven’t seen any of my friends in about a month and haven’t even left my neighborhood. The transition to online school has been a bumpy one as problems between Schoology and teachers adjusting formatting assignments have all changed.

It has also been difficult for me and my family because my dad works at Children’s Hospital Colorado as a Pediatric Intensive Care (PICU) doctor, where he sees the sickest patients who might be most at risk of coronavirus. Fortunately, there have been no confirmed cases where he works and hopefully, that continues in the coming weeks.

It has changed the routine of family life a little bit, as we normally don’t see him for an additional 20 minutes after he arrives home due to the precautions he takes to prevent me and my family from possibly getting sick. We have also had discussions about if and how he would isolate from us if he were to contract the virus.

So far, the biggest difference from being away from school is the extra time throughout the day that has to be filled. Without the commute time, after school activities, and hanging out with friends, I literally have hours of extra time on my hands.

I have found ways to fill it by spending time outside, playing soccer, or working out for at least an hour every day. This helps a lot between staying active and making sure that I don’t spend hours just sitting on my phone, which is easy to do during extended breaks like this.

I have made sure to keep in touch with my friends and it has helped the time that I have spent isolated seem just a little bit shorter. I have also tried to improve my Spanish and even started to learn German in my free time.

Other parts of the break have been a little more difficult to adjust to though. Having all of my classes online has been a difficult transition, especially for those where the teachers give lectures for the lessons.

The transactions in math and chemistry have been particularly difficult and the style of teaching and learning has been altered. Even while we were all at school, Schoology had its issues, and they have seemed to compound since everyone now relies on it for each one of their classes.

It has also been difficult to adjust to not consistently being with friends. The last day of school was the last time that I was able to hang out with anyone and that has been tough, but through FaceTime and Snapchat I have been able to stay in close contact with many of those that are close to me.

Overall, this break has not been all bad though. I have had so much more time to do some of the things I love, mainly having the time and weather to play soccer again. As long as we all stay vigilant with social distancing for just a little bit longer, it looks like things might begin to go back to normal.