This upcoming fall is going to be difficult

1.

So, recently I’ve been thinking a lot about school. Last year I joined Boston Latin School in ninth grade where around 50 students joined, which is far less than the large number of students that entered in seventh grade. It was weird going to a new school with people who had been with each other for the previous two years. Despite this, I still managed to fit in pretty well. The only thing is that my first year of high school, in a new school, was cut in half.

In my school, classmates who entered the school in seventh grade warned me that finals were very difficult and that there were a lot of school-wide traditions that I had yet to experience. All of these were experiences I could have potentially experienced if COVID-19 had not happened. Regardless of the virus, I was still able to choose my classes for my sophomore year.

Next school year, I will take my first Advanced Placement (AP) class, which will be AP World History. In my school, most, if not all, of the AP classes have summer homework assignments. Add this to the summer homework given by the english and math departments, and you get an abundance of work. I haven’t even gotten started on it, and it worries me because last summer I was barely able to complete the summer homework assignments that took me a lot of time. 

To put it succinctly, summer homework and my lack of experience is scaring me for what will come next year in my high school. Next year brings completely new classmates, new teachers, and harder work. Hopefully, I’ll be prepared for it.

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2.

So today, diary, I’m going to talk about what I’ve been doing to occupy myself during the quarantine. I’ve been watching anime, going on bike rides, and playing PS4.

For anime, I recently started “Hunter x Hunter,” and have gotten to episode 40. There are roughly 150 episodes in the series, so let’s just say I still have a long way to go. The anime is about a boy named Gon, whose parents are absent in his life. He is 12 years old and plans to take the hunter exam to become a hunter to find out what’s so important and why his father left him to be a hunter. So far, I’ve been loving this series. It is very close to overtaking some of my favorites such as “Naruto” and “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.” I don’t know what it is about this anime, but to me, it does every part of the show correctly. There has not been a single episode where I have been bored. Whether it be the great character development, the lack of plot armor, or the great fights, I love this show.

For bike rides, the reason I have been doing so much of them recently is that I just got my bike a couple of weeks ago! Usually, I bike to school and back because I am seriously considering biking to school rather than taking public transportation that is packed, slow, and inconvenient. This seems like a way more private, up-to-me method of getting to school, and I love the idea of it! I have been late to school many times because of the MBTA, and at least now if I’m late, I know I’m the only one to blame.

PS4 has been the last thing occupying my time. I recently got “Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege” (R6) and it has one of the steepest learning curves in any video game that I’ve ever played. The game is very realistic. With no jumping, instant kill headshots (yes, even with a pistol, any gun goes), and real guns and scopes, this game becomes increasingly difficult. With the help of YouTube, “veteran” friends and perseverance, I am slowly starting to get the hang of things. I like the challenge that this game provides, and it pushes me to try harder and do better.

Overall, I’ve been doing a lot of things to keep myself busy, and with the help of SJI quarantine has not been all that bad (for the summer at least)! I’d still much rather prefer to hang with my friends, but that’s alright. We only have to hold on for a little longer until the COVID-19 situation has calmed down.

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3.‍

Hey all! Recently, I’ve been worrying about the coronavirus a lot. A simple Google search showed me that we still have not even hit the peak of the coronavirus yet in Massachusetts, although we are very close. Cases are rising again, and as more and more time passes, people take COVID-19 less and less seriously. 

July 4th is a prime example of this. All neighbors on my street (except for one) had a cookout, and this is worrisome because I live with two high-risk people in my household. Florida hit the record for the most COVID-19 cases in a day, and Texas suffered greatly by allowing the community to exit quarantine. COVID-19 is not over, and we must all work hard and continue to use masks and avoid meeting up with friends.

Overall, COVID-19 has killed the economy, killed tens of thousands of people and has forced us to change our lifestyles. That is why it is so essential that we hold on for a little longer and continue to fight the virus. Trivial things like wearing a mask, staying six-feet apart, and declining a party invitation can save lives. So it is really up to us on how fast this virus is going to end.