It would be a lie to say this pandemic has been easy for me. As a full remote student for most of last year, online school was an anxiety-inducing experience for me, and I struggled to grapple with all the surrounding unknowns. However, I found ways around these hardships with the help of my friends and family.

You all may remember this pandemic began with apocalyptic-style panic shopping. Everyone thinks of the toilet paper shortage, but by our last day of in-person school, most of the food was already gone too. While this photo itself does not paint a bright picture, the limited food options resulted in me trying some new things I had not eaten before the pandemic. Through the last two or so years, my diet has expanded massively.

For at least the first couple months of the pandemic, my family did not leave the house unless it was for food. I was 16, and normally, people that age learn to drive. But considering that my family wasn’t really going anywhere, my practice opportunities were limited.

While COVID as well as my busy schedule have continued to delay my driver’s education, I was glad to have completed my first step in October 2020.

It did take a lot for my family to feel comfortable with the RMV, and they were still nervous about other places such as barber shops. My sister opted to grow her hair out, but I was getting sick of my long hair and my mom offered to give a home haircut a shot.

Quite honestly, I think it turned out great, and she has continued to cut my hair through the rest of the pandemic. My mom knows my hair better than most barbers, and now, I think it would be hard to even trust anyone else to cut my hair as well as she does.

While it wasn’t exactly my preference, I was also a remote student for most of my junior year. For some of my classes, I needed to Zoom into an in-person class, which proved to be difficult at times. In Pre Calculus, it was difficult to keep up with the fast pace from my bedroom. In Spanish, I appeared to the class in the form of an iPad. 

I was also remote for my Digital Art class, but for my final project, I created a new logo for my sports blog, BostonSportsMania.com. I came up with the idea to make apparel with this new logo to raise money for The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism.

I had held an in-person event for the Foundation before COVID, but this was an innovative way to continue my fundraising efforts. 

Even though it has been a hard couple of years, I have done some great things, and these photos highlight some of my best memories. While this is not over, I am glad that we are moving closer to normalcy. Normal times could make for even more exciting moments, and I look forward to capturing those.