In March of 2020, a lot of lives started to change. A couple of days before spring break, my drill team flew to California to perform at Universal Studios with another school’s team. We all stayed for a few days, and on our last day out of town, we heard there was a coronavirus case back in our area at home. After we all headed back home, the school district sent out an email stating the break was extended because the cases started spreading. The original plan was to go back to school after two weeks, but that never happened.

Since we didn’t get the chance to go back to school, everybody started panicking, and schools started to shut down completely. The whole state of Texas started going crazy and went to grocery stores to buy all the food. Cases started to spread left and right. Both of my parents had to work from home, and I had to do online school, which was weird to me.

Being told not to leave the house like I used to and not being able to see my friends wasn’t normal to me. But as months went by, I learned how to deal with it. I had to keep my health and the health of and my family in good shape so we wouldn’t have to worry so much. I stayed home for the rest of the school year and most of summer.

Staying at home for months straight and only leaving for necessities was hard. During the pandemic I focused on myself mentally. It was rough, but I got through it. Doing the same routine every day was quite boring but worth it rather than getting sick.

Till this day we still take precautions in everything we do and everywhere we go. Staying safe during this difficult time is the main thing that matters. Even though I’m scared my family members will catch the virus, I know I have to stay strong for them. Dealing with this is not easy. I am still learning to cope with the changes.