It was March 13, 2020. I went to school with a smile on my face. I was excited to meet my friends and teachers. We had our morning meeting in our classroom and started our school work. It felt like a regular school day, until after lunch. There was some bad news. Our teacher announced that SCHOOL WAS CLOSING DUE TO COVID-19!!! I was super sad. I was not going to meet my friends in person for a long time. I just got home after school ended. So, I was going to be stuck under that same roof for a long time, except the doctor’s office. But, one thing that I really liked was that I could go outside in the neighborhood and get some exercise.
From March 18, 2020 – May 29, 2020 I had virtual school. Every morning I had a class call on Google Meet for 30-60 minutes. Friday was my favorite day because the class and I would meet at 11:00 for library on Google Meet. This schedule was the same for everybody until after spring break. One of my friends thought about having a study group after our class call/ library. So, all of my friends said yes. Study group was only about 5 kids out of the 24 in my class. We all would study there and ask help from a friend if that person needed help. It was very exciting to be with my friends on calls instead of just doing school work. It was even more fun because I was in charge of the study group. Since my whole family was just on a screen we would go outside and get some fresh air. It was refreshing and it helped me recharge for the rest of the day. Since school is over it is summer time now!!!!!!! Some of the things I did until now was that I painted and biked with my family, camps, watched TV, Chess, talking with my friends, talking with my cousins and drawing. My mom had a candle making box stored in our house and so she made it a family project where she, my brother and I made candles! And they turned out very pretty. I did not expect that though. One thing that I really love is family hikes. Every weekend on Sunday my family and I go on a hike in some preserve. Every hike is about 3-6 miles. I love these hikes because I can stay with my family and get some fresh air at the same time. It’s a win-win for me! We saw amazing views and haved loved our hikes so far. One of the camps I’ve been doing is called Adventures in Writing (AIW). The purpose of this camp is for people to learn how to write better and the goal of this camp is for people to write and publish a book onto AIW’s website.
The most difficult part of the COVID-19 experience is that I’m not allowed to go closer than 6 feet to another person except the people that I live with. COVID-19 has affected me by not having to go to grocery stores, always having to exercise, always having to call friends so us kids can stay socially connected and I have to wash my hands every hour of the day. I can’t wait till schools open up and COVID-19 is gone!!!
Submitted by Ankan Shah, Santa Clara County – Los Altos.