These past few weeks have been the most, for lack of a better word, “bumpy”, days of my life. After losing both of my jobs at the start of quarantine, I did not have too much hope for the future. E-learning became an extremely overwhelming priority in my life, and I felt like I had even less free time then before quarantine. A positive element I have taken out of my time in isolation and will hopefully continue to use in the future is management skills and working on my frequent problem of procrastination. As I began to create a schedule for myself and tried to stick to it daily, everything got a lot easier for me. As time progressed, my teachers began to realize how overwhelming the workload was, even for IB and AP students like myself. Once I had a steady routine, I was able to have more time to spend on my hobbies, and even on finding new hobbies. I have been able to work on my small business where I upcycle and sell sustainable clothing, and even make that my main source of income during this time. Along with that, I have had more time to work on my art, which has been an incredible outlet for me. Painting, drawing, journaling, photography, and making music has helped me release anxiety and channel my built up energy. Staying somewhat busy has been good for me as somebody who likes constant activity. Along with art, daily yoga and meditation has been amazing for me. There are thousands of videos and podcasts on yoga and mediation, and so much to learn about it. A few weeks ago I even opened my third eye and learned how to manifest, which has had incredible results. Everything about this experience has been bittersweet. My time in solitude has helped me spiritually, mentally, and creatively. On the other hand, social distancing has caused me to lose a lot of time with my friends before they go to college. Although I have missed out on some of my junior year experiences, I feel more sorrow for my senior friends who do not have another year in highschool to have these “senior” experiences. My friends and I have been able to find ways to social distance and still have interactions with each other, which has been a large factor in keeping me sane. Looking into the future, I will definitely not take basic activities like hanging out with friends, going to cafes, seeing my classmates, and spending time with my family for granted. This experience has also showed me that I should travel, go to concerts, and do whatever makes me happy when this pandemic is over, because we don’t know how much time we have left in our lives to have fun. Having a positive, yet realistic mindset has helped me immensely during this time. I can now acknowledge the fact that this is the new normal. I have to be able to accept our current situation, and be able to adapt to our new way of life if I want to be content with myself during these unfortunate times.