During the early stages of the pandemic, lockdown was hard for all of us in several ways. A vast majority of the population struggled with isolation, being jobless, looking for ways to provide for their families, and other challenges. 

    My mental health was affected as well, which later resulted in me failing in certain subjects. I could not find any type of motivation to complete any of my schoolwork and focus on my classes. A few setbacks in my daily routine were from my surroundings because there were multiple distractions everywhere. It was my responsibility to take care of both of my younger siblings and make sure their assignments were turned in through an app called ClassDojo.  

   At the time, I had been helping my little sister, Angelina, who was only 6, and she took most of my attention. Balancing my siblings’ school life and my own was not easy since I needed to help them understand a few assignments and make sure work was turned in on time, while also having to focus on myself and my school life. After their school was over, I had my own homework to complete, and chores to do. 

     The method I used to manage both my school and home life at the same time was by putting everything in a positive perspective. At home, I was able to move around freely; however, there were times I could not find any type of inspiration, yet still managed to balance my assignments and eliminate obstacles. The transition between online and physical school was a tricky thing for me to adapt to at first, but with time I was able to understand the instructors’ teaching methods and change my learning habits. 

   As the pandemic progressed, I learned how to manage my time so that I could complete my assignments, help my younger siblings with their work, and still have an opportunity to entertain myself. I used shows, games, movies, and webtoons, such as, I Love Yoo, Subzero, and True Beauty whenever I found myself doing nothing with my time. At some point, a few of my family members caught Covid and kept their distance from us. My mom and my older sister contracted COVID-19 and it was difficult to isolate me and my little siblings from them because we were in the same household. 

   The pandemic also caused my family to struggle financially, which caused us to be in search of any job opportunities. At some point, my mother and stepfather were thinking about moving to a different part of Miami where there might be more job opportunities.  

   However, in the end, we decided to stay where we were, and workplaces began to open again. During this time, it was not just my family that was struggling but others as well because jobs were being taken away from people all around us. According to the news article “COVID-19 has caused a huge amount of lost working hours” published by World Economic Forum, the pandemic and the resulting lockdown caused 114 million people to lose their jobs during the year 2020. 

   Covid-19 cases are decreasing, most states are dropping indoor masks, and deaths have started to decline too. I feel fortunate to have lived through this pandemic safely with my family. It became a regular practice to sanitize everything and anything, but now as we move forward, we’ve started to feel safer in our environment. Things are changing, and people are finally getting the vaccine!