When the news first broke that COVID-19 was rapidly spreading in China, I widely underestimated how quickly it would outbreak into a global pandemic.

I remember my coworker telling me how he was preparing for a lockdown, buying cleaning supplies, extra food and masks for protection. I feel silly now thinking how I initially thought he was overreacting, because the COVID-19 outbreak has without a doubt affected what I was just beginning to adjust as a new normal. 

Before this quarantine officially started, I was beginning to love the way my junior year was panning out. I had just begun my outdoor Track and Field season and I was very excited to be trying Pole Vault for the first time.

We had completed about one full week of practice, and first (and probably last) Saturday practice was bright and early the day of my 17th birthday.  I was already beginning to form friendships with my Pole Vault group, but now that school is closed, it’s sad to think how I probably won’t be seeing any of my teammates that are graduating in June. 

It’s definitely a different experience tackling the remainder of Junior year at home, so it is sometimes overwhelming knowing that I have to remain on track for college, even in the middle of a global pandemic.

It’s weird to think how much reality has changed since the beginning of March, and during this quarantine, I find myself readjusting to a “new” normal yet again.  

I don’t think I realized how serious this COVID-19 crisis was until I visited my grandparents’ house 2 weeks ago. I went over there in hopes of interviewing my grandparents for a documentary I planned to do about their house and the positive impact it has on my family. But I soon realized that COVID-19 would postpone this project, just as it postponed my track season. 

It was odd when I had to stand at the doorway of my grand parents room, not being able to hug them because of social distancing. My grandfather said that he needed to keep his distance from “young folk” like me, as we can easily be carriers of the virus without knowing it. So, though I was disappointed,  I kept my distance and understood that my grandparents are far more at risk of contracting the virus than me. 

There are certain eerie moments, like going grocery shopping and seeing everyone wear face masks at a 6 ft distance apart from each other, that I realize I’m living in the middle of what will be a historic event in some time.

If someone would have told me at the beginning of 2020 that I would live through a global pandemic, I wouldn’t have believed them. When we all jokingly said we were ready for the roaring 20s, we most certainly did not mean a global pandemic, yet here we are in the middle of one… 

I’ve been trying to make the best out of this quarantine by spending time with my older sister and my dad. Though my mother is stuck in Florida until this quarantine blows over, luckily I have Facetime to keep in touch with her and the rest of my family.

I’ve been taking up cooking as a new hobby (though I’m not the most skilled baker) and doing a lot more creative writing on Wattpad and Prose.com. 

If there is anything good that comes out of this quarantine, besides the fact that I will probably be a master chef when this is all over, it’s probably the fact that it has allowed me to slow down, take things one at a time and remember that this “new normal” is a temporary reality.