 By: Spring 2020 Journalists
Throughout all the unprecedented changes in the Spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound change on the way we celebrate our high school seniors. For my students, I had the simple assignment: Write what you feel. The results were astounding. At times sentimental, reflective, frustrated and thankful, but altogether powerful. I hope you get the chance to read each response with the care they took to write it. This gave me incredible insight into what seniors are going through, and I hope it does the same for you. If you are a teacher of one of these students, discuss this with them. If you are a friend or family member, bring them up and support them during this time. We are all in this together. --Mr. Martin Emily Fazzina--A letter to the year 2020 Dear 2020, I miss you. I don’t think I ever knew how good I had it until you were taken away from me. But why did you have to let yourself go? We were rooting for you, we had high hopes that you would outdo 2019, but you let us down. Not even three months knowing you and It feels like I’ve been transported to a dystopian movie. There’s nothing we can do now, but why didn’t you warn us? Every passing moment our future becomes the present, and the present becomes the past, so why do we have to live it like this, with time so easily wasted. Separated from what used to be, trying to reconnect with what we were rather than make this a new beginning. I miss school, my friends, holidays, prom, being able to hug someone without worry that I would be endangering their wellbeing. But this is the new normal... at least for now. But can you imagine that? I would have never thought in a million years that something so simple and loving as a hug would be considered practically illegal. I’m still rooting for you to make a comeback though. It’s really easy for people to remember the bad things that happen. But give us something good to remember you by. With best wishes, Emily Fazzina Sam Odell, Matt Silver, Haley Krawczyk, Luciano Quagliaroli, Clarence Jubac Last week, the WHS family learned that prom and senior picnic, two seminal rites of passage in the senior experience were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and school closure. The WHS junior and senior classes wanted to write a message to their peers, teachers, staff, and the entire Wethersfield community on the loss of this time. These are their thoughts. It is a general consensus that the “corona-cation” that was affectionately named at the beginning of quarantine is no longer something that upperclassmen at Wethersfield High School enjoy. The blow of senior activities being canceled was a devastating one that will never be forgotten. We will forever be the class of corona, instead of the class of 2020. Class of 2020 has a certain ring and meaning to it when you think about it. Think of it in the way of a person’s eyesight. 20/20 means you have perfect eyesight, you’ve got perfect vision. You’re able to see things clearly. What we as the students of the class of 2020 saw clearly and had a vision of, was that our time as kids, teens, young adults, and our childhood, in general, was coming to an end. Senior prom, the senior picnic, and other senior activities were a way to end things off on a good note. These events were milestones that we would celebrate in a unique way, which is in most cases a once in a lifetime opportunity. With the COVID-19 pandemic occurring along with the school closure, our vision isn’t as clear or perfect as we thought it would be. No milestones fulfilled, and no proper way to say goodbye to the teachers and other students you’ve met through our journey in high school. In a way, the most upsetting part is the fact that after going to school for over twelve years, we are going to miss the months that are the most fun. The second semester of senior year serves as a reward for the effort we have put in since we were five years old. In these last few months, most post-secondary decisions have been settled and students are finally able to relax and appreciate the last time that they will ever have with this class all together. Having gone to school with the Class of 2020 since kindergarten, these are the people that we have grown up with. Throughout the years prior to this one, we have all fantasized about how much fun we would have in the spring of our senior year together. But, with the cancellation of senior activities, it’s very possible that we may never see a lot of our classmates again. Isabella Samse Over this period of time during quarantine I have had a lot of time to think. My thoughts are all over the place. I am going to be honest as a senior, a seventeen-year-old girl. I am very stubborn and angry this is happening. Wasn’t this supposed to be the best three months of my life? Why me? It is insane how I will never step back on the court with my team, I won’t ever have the chance to go to a different country with my three best friends during break. I won’t go to another prom or have our senior picnic, are we even having spring sports? Every day I think about what I should be doing if this pandemic wasn’t happening. This “norm” that we have to distance from our friends and wear masks breaks my heart. Every day is a drag and I wish I was anywhere but home. My fellow classmates and I are miserable, not being able to go to accepted student’s day, worrying if we will have a freshman first semester of college online. The 2020 seniors have been robbed of our senior privileges. I wish prom and the senior picnic were postponed and not canceled. There is still time and this can get better. My classmates and I deserve to have something! It's not fair that everything we have been waiting for has been taken away from us. I hope to see my teachers and classmates again soon, hopefully at graduation following with a Safe Grad. We all have been waiting for this and I want to thank the teachers who have been on our side, fighting for our senior events back. You have stuck by and been strong for us during this time. Alexis Almada I hate you Corona, and if I could use stronger words, I would. This was supposed to be our year. When my parents told me these next four years of my life would go by quickly, I didn’t think they meant this fast. I didn’t think that the “time of our lives” was supposed to end this way. The last few months of our senior year that we’re supposed to have fun are gone. I never got to go to my senior prom. I never got to go on my senior picnic. I never got to fully say goodbye. I walked out of WHS on March 13th, thinking I would be back in two weeks. I never thought that it could’ve been my last time walking out of that building. My senior year was cut short, and it sucks. We never got to fully take it in and experience our last year of high school. You not only robbed so many kids of their senior year, but you took so many innocent peoples’ lives. You preyed on the weak, and that isn’t fair. Emily Karwic Throughout my high school career, I have looked forward to the last semester of my senior year because it’s supposed to be a time to just look back and enjoy your last few months of high school. However, given the current circumstances that is no longer the case, because I can’t even see my friends. Senior prom and the senior picnic are supposed to be a kind of symbolic time for the students because we get to look back and think about how great the last four years have been. I think we all just wish things were different because at the beginning of the year, no one could have expected that something like this would happen. The students, along with the rest of the community, look forward to the senior picnic and prom and it’s heartbreaking to have it canceled due to something that’s so unpredictable and out of everyone's control. I’m thankful to have had a junior prom and an unforgettable first senior semester at Wethersfield High School but there’s so much I feel like I’ve missed. Given the fact that we aren’t the only town facing these circumstances, it’s great to see that the parents and town as a whole are looking for ways to celebrate their seniors in the community. It’s safe to say that this pandemic is something that won’t be forgotten for the class of 2020. Bryce Arnold Due to the unexpected Coronavirus pandemic, the senior prom and picnic were canceled because of school closure. I was told to chime in about my thoughts on this, so here are my thoughts: I think that this is all unfortunate, as many seniors were looking forward to prom and the picnic. It sucks that we won’t ever get another school dance to go to, and some of us may never see each other again if the pandemic continues growing at this rate. There is no possible way any of us could even fathom what is going on right now in the world. If you told me about 1 month ago that I may have had my last day of school, I wouldn’t have believed you, but here we are. We’re all stuck inside, getting more bored with every passing day, waiting to go back out into the world we once knew. The normal life I once lived seems like a distant memory to me. I want nothing more than for everything to just go back to normal, but I also see something good in this situation. Obviously, no one wanted this to happen, but we can come out of this and be better people. We were all rushing from place to place and season to season before this pandemic started, and I think this is a good chance for us to slow down and absorb the lives we all lived. We all have room for improvement, and I think if we take the time to strive to do one thing better in our lives, it won’t be time wasted. Isaac Santos, Class of 2020 President Seniors, I am truly sorry for what is happening. I am alongside all of you when I say that I'm devastated, upset, and shocked over the cancellation of our senior prom and senior picnic. As your Class President and Board of Education Student Representative, I feel like you all deserve to have clarity on what has been going on these past weeks. On April 8, the class officers and I had a Google Meet conference with Mr. Moore, Mr. Webb, and Mrs. Belanger. In the meeting, we discussed potential outcomes for our senior activities with the mindset and hopes that nothing would be canceled. However, last week on April 16th we all met again to hear the unfortunate news that our senior activities were canceled. I understand the frustration that you are all going through. I understand that some of you have already purchased your dress for prom and can’t return it. However, When Superintendent Mr. Emmett met with officials from the State Department of Health and after meeting with Mr. Moore, they decided that it's best to cancel the events for our safety, and there is no arguing that safety is the number one priority. This pandemic is something the state has never seen and wasn’t prepared for. I do understand that other school districts are rescheduling and postponing their senior activities. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out in our case, we are still looking at the possibility to reschedule. May 20th is a placeholder date to come back to school; it's not a guarantee. However, I am here today to shine some light on all this darkness. The class officers and I are planning a Senior Event that can potentially be done in the near future if Social Distancing allows it. Although Senior Prom at the Aqua Turf is canceled, I promise you this: we will have some sort of senior activity and I promise you that you will end your senior year on a good note. The class officers and I agree that we don’t want to end our senior year like this and we will have an event, whether it be school organized or organized by the class officers. We will get some sort of closure. As more information comes to light I’ll be sure to let you all know. Feel free to contact me at santosisaac@wethersfield.me or via social media. Michaela Collins Well this sucks. I’m not going to lie, I've been avoiding writing this ever since this became an assignment because it just made me feel like my senior year is over. But it’s 5:50 something on a Friday afternoon and since I “forgot” to do assignments for some of my classes, I thought I might as well accomplish something today. Yes, I am frustrated that my senior prom and picnic were canceled. While things like dresses and appointments can be replaced, I won't have the fun memories with my friends at prom. However, this situation is bittersweet. I didn't want my senior activities to get canceled, but I also know that I won't spread or be infected by this virus if I stay home. There are just a few things that I wasn't prepared to let go of yet, like going to choir early in the mornings so my friends and I can sort music and get the chairs ready. I miss Sand starting off class with “Alright so here’s the skinny…” and him giving eye-opening lessons that, in my opinion, are some of the most important lessons to learn. Also not seeing my friends that I don't usually get to see in the hallway is strange. And Mrs.Niemic…who doesn't miss Mrs. Niemic?! Although I could go on and on about what I miss, I’m glad I get a few glimpses of our old reality through distance learning. The long messages and funny videos some teachers post are really helpful. I appreciate how all the teachers are trying to work with the students as this is an unfortunate time for everybody. I know it probably doesn't mean much coming from some random student that barely talks, but I think you guys are doing a pretty good job. Anyways, I don't want to be all sappy for too long so please stay home, get some rest, hydrate yourselves, bake a cake whatever. Stay safe guys! Isabella Rende In times like this, everything feels to be unknown. The COVID-19 virus has affected everyone in a negative way In some shape or form. This article isn’t supposed to express how 2020 graduates, myself, or anyone has it the worst. This article Is just expressing the struggles of my, as well as many others in the year of 2020. The seniors of 2020 are very grateful for all the support and leniency the school has provided us. The timing of the COVID-19 virus happened to personally affect me as well as seniors across the world. It’s so very unfortunate, but in times like this, I try to not remain angry at anyone for this. It’s no one’s fault and no one could be prepared for this. While I feel the school isn’t making efforts to reschedule prom into the summertime, my friends and I have taken it into our own hands to create our own prom after the quarantine is lifted. To all of my fellow classmates, teachers, board of education, and parents, It is important to stay positive and kind during these times. We need to stay together and rise above, We can’t blame people or be unkind to one another in stressful times like this. Our kindness, strength, and determination will get us through this. For when this is over, we will have the best summer, or the best school year we can have. This COVID-19 virus will show us a new appreciation for hugging our loved ones, going out to eat, and spending time together. Jillian Gray That morning when I got the email that prom was canceled, my heart dropped. Ever since I was little, I’ve always dreamed of going to my senior prom with my friends and getting all dressed up, but who knew that your dreams could get washed away so suddenly. The thought of never experiencing a senior prom, and for some people never experiencing a prom at all, it sucks. Our senior year was supposed to be the best year of high school, and we got ours taken away from us. Something that we will never get to experience like everybody else, and we will never get to tell our future children about other than how it was ruined by COVID-19. Kyle Edman The best year of everyone's high school experience, senior year. At least that’s what people think, I am at a loss of words almost to say the least about my last year of high school and I can’t believe me and the entire class of 2020 are going out like this. We have just learned that there will no longer be a senior picnic and one of the most exciting high school events, our senior prom. I was so ready to have the most fun year of my life and the last with friends that I’ve known for so long, the last year before we went to college and I had plans to go out with a bang. Over April break, I was supposed to go to Costa Rica on a school trip with some of my best friends and favorite teachers. I was looking forward to this trip for over a year and it was going to be one of the best trips that I would ever experience, especially with great teachers like Mr. Sand and Mr. Martin. This ended up getting canceled as well due to the COVID-19 outbreak. I feel like I have just lost so many fun times and not getting to see my friends in school has just been unreal. Overall this has been one of the worst situations ever but there is nothing we can do to get this time back. I never thought I would say this but I hope we can get back in school before the year ends and if not I hope to at least have a summer. Thank you to everyone who has made my high school life fun including teachers and all my friends. It's been real, Wethersfield. Audrey Mainville From the moment quarantine bled in April, I knew things weren’t looking good. It was around that time when I realized that the likelihood of prom, the senior picnic, and even a graduation ceremony was slim. I mourned that for a bit, as I knew that these were things that solidified the end of an era. Knowing I won’t have this closure, has made me feel lost in many ways. Maybe I sound pessimistic, or depressing, but it’s only a side effect of this growing predicament. Through this, I’ve been taught not to get my hopes up on things. This, in the end, has made the disappointment easier to bear. That being said, there is a lot of good I see in this. In ways, it’s endearing that there’s a whole generation of students who have missed out on the end of their senior year. A generation that will likely console one another in the future, and will carry out new activities to replace these lost moments. More than ever we will look at one another in a new light, and with a new understanding. Those who were once surrounded by so many now have a taste for what loneliness and isolation feels like. Looking at those who struggled with this even before the outbreak will begin to be looked upon with a new sense of empathy. This is only a hope of mine though because again, I can’t get my hopes up. All I can say, for now, is that I thank all of the WHS staff members who have affected me in ways unimaginable. I would gladly give up prom and the senior picnic if it meant I could walk those halls once more, on June 12th, and say a final goodbye to those who have inspired me, made me laugh, and left my head full of new perspectives, and new ideas. Above all else, those are the things that have made my high-school experience worthwhile. So with that, I thank you, WHS! Thank you for all you have done for me. Dzenita Korkutovic I am upset. The one thing I was looking forward to was canceled...senior prom. I understand the school had to take precautions to COVID but it just sucks that they had to take the most fun things of our senior year away. My date and I picked out our outfits for prom already, I picked out how I was going to do my makeup and hair. My dress came in like a month ago and I kid you not, I cried. I have been to prom with other people but it would have been nice for a prom day for my grade at my school. I didn't go to my junior prom (which I kind of regret) and now I won't go to my senior prom. I was planning on popping off this prom also...smh. I'm also upset about the senior picnic because it's like a whole day I get to spend with my best friends is all gone. I think I'm just more upset about prom than the picnic. Nick Silva The class of 2020 was recently informed that our senior prom and senior picnic was to be canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic and school closure. This news is heartbreaking for us because these events give us an opportunity to experience our classmates' company before graduating and spending time with people we enjoy. Many of us are very upset because we had a lot to look forward to with these events, such as taking pictures, going to prom with your friends, having an after prom, and just enjoying each other's company. It is frustrating because this pandemic continues to be a disaster and continues to ruin things that we have all been looking forward to. It is also unfortunate because in the future, we cannot look back on having a senior prom or picnic, and that is heartbreaking. I appreciate the WHS Staff for looking out for our health and realizing it might be too early to have a prom because it could jeopardize our health and safety, and a large group of people for prom would not be a good idea. Bella Del Aguila We had finally reached the end of an era. Freshman year was a new world for everyone. We were a little scared, but feeling empowered and ready to take on the world. Sophomore year was cool because we weren’t the “babies” of the school anymore. We knew our way around the building and this life was normal by then. Junior year was stressful for many reasons. But hey, we were finally upperclassmen so it was a shift in power. It was a lot of pressure but we got through it. We took our SAT’s and started thinking realistically about college. We had one last summer of fun, and then we were suddenly seniors. We thought, “wow, we made it! We’re finally in the home stretch!” The first half of this school year was spent applying to colleges and getting our decisions back. We learned and laughed and cried with the people we had grown to know and love. We started to reflect on the fact that we were all about to part ways in college. It was bittersweet, but everything finally felt okay. People say that high school shouldn’t be the best four years of your life, but it certainly has its moments. We were about to experience the last few things that would truly make these last 4 years feel worth it. This pandemic is taking all of that away. Nobody wants to stay inside, but it’s not going to get any better if we ignore the rules. Because of this, we can’t celebrate as we should. We’re supposed to be getting ready for our big picnic, and buzzing with excitement for our last prom, and fitting our caps and gowns for graduation. But we might not experience any of those important little moments. We’re all dealing with it in our own ways, but it’s overall very sad. This was meant to be OUR time, and now that’s being taken away from us. Gabriella Amoddio, Class of 2021 As a junior, the news that my prom was canceled was very sad. My friends and I had been talking and planning for months and were really looking forward to a night filled with fun. That being said, I can’t even imagine how the senior class is feeling. I can come back next year and enjoy all the senior activities, but their high school career came to a halting stop with no warning at all. Obviously, this decision was a tough one and I know that administration probably thought long and hard about it, but it’s upsetting to see that they couldn’t figure something out, whether it was rescheduling it or finding an alternative solution. Andrew Desrochers Covid-19 has definitely changed everyone's life but as a senior in high school, my world is being flipped completely upside down. We all share the changes like not getting to go out on the weekend and for me not being able to work. But I also have some more changes that are way more important to me. My number one problem with this pandemic is the fact that I probably won't have a senior season for baseball. This is my last year ever to play the sport that I love and it hurts so much to see it going away. I'm not going to be able to hear my name being called for senior night or playing in the state tournament. Baseball is one of the only things I truly love in this world and it totally sucks to see it go. I'm going to miss playing with my best friends but this pandemic is just another obstacle to overcome. Luciano Quagliaroli I'm Grateful Senior year was three months away from ending and a pandemic shut the world down. junior/senior prom, senior picnic, and graduation were all things I was looking forward to. As disappointing as it is for these events to be canceled, I feel blessed and at peace. It's a complete bummer that these things were taken from us and my Thai friend Moss had to go home, but that doesn't change the fact that I have a roof over my head, food in my stomach, a Chromebook to type this on, and a caring community that is getting through this together. It's hard not to acknowledge the fact that this crisis has turned so many people's lives upside down, so I feel like if my prom and picnic being canceled are the biggest of my problems, I'm doing okay. It is important to acknowledge our losses, no matter how small they are, however, we also have to acknowledge our blessings. I feel a lot more blessed than I do cursed in this time despite the cancellation to these ¨rites of passage¨. I do feel very grateful towards my teachers and wish I could've said goodbye in person, but I'm sure I'll see them again at some point. I've accepted every inconvenience due to this pandemic up to this point. I hope that in the summer things do get up and moving again because it is my last summer before college. I really just wish for colleges to not cancel the Fall semester because I want to start on campus as soon as possible. As disappointing as it all is, I try to look at the silver linings. There are many of them and I encourage everyone to do the same. If we dwell on the positive we´ll come out of this ok. Sarmin Alikavazovic A couple of weeks ago we got the devastating news that our senior events would get canceled. We have all been waiting for this event and looking forward to it for about 12 years. I remember as being a freshman seeing pictures online of people having fun at senior prom, the picnic, and all the other events. It is really sad but we can’t do anything about it except hope that we will get these events back later in the year. I was looking forward to spending time and having fun with my fellow classmates because I don't know when I will be seeing them in the future. Mostly wanted to spend time with my guys but not everything goes as planned. Serf Piedrasanta 2020 has always felt like a special year for me. Something about it has made it so that I have looked forward to it since my freshman year. Along with graduating, it felt like a year that held some sort of special sentiment. Now that 2020 has come, I realize that maybe the importance I felt was not one I should have anticipated excitedly. COVID-19 has made my senior year practically nonexistent. My senior show, The Addams Family, was canceled after one public showing. The senior prom and senior picnic that make all the stress of college applications and the transition into a new stage of life a little less intense are completely gone. For now, we only have our graduation to look forward to, but it still doesn’t feel right. All of the traditional farewell ceremonies are gone, so the class of 2020 just feels... confused and lost. We have learned one thing from all of this though, and that is to never take anything for granted, and nothing is ever set in stone. Lauren Cholewa I’m frustrated as one of the seniors of the Class of 2020, this was supposed to be the time where we get to do all the fun things we have been waiting for our entire lives/ high school careers to be doing, sort of like a rite of passage but now, because of the virus, we can't. We as a class have been taken away the few things we all were really looking forward to…senior picnic, prom at the Aqua Turf and especially graduation, which we don't even know how that's going to play out. It's frustrating and heartbreaking and I think as a class we’re all insanely bummed out that this happened our year. Michelle Guerard It’s like running the race your whole life to get to the finish line and suddenly the finish line isn’t the same. We spent the last twelve years of our lives in public education looking forward to the last year. The best year, filled with heartfelt moments and memories that would last a lifetime. Even when times were rough we still had something to look forward to, our senior year. Especially for me, I made the decision at the beginning of my junior year to graduate early. Going to school was the worst thing for me. However, the last few months of my junior year changed my perspective of school. I was genuinely enjoying spending time with my classmates and teachers. I saw the senior class having even more fun. I made the choice to no longer follow the path of graduating early because I wanted my senior year. If I graduated early, the only thing I would be missing out on was the best months of my high school experience, and that was something too precious to give up. Even when times were hard, I told myself it will get better because I had this time of year to look forward to. Not only is it senior prom, senior picnic, but the last few months I get to spend with my classmates and teachers that I might never see again. Our adult life is ahead of us and the opportunity to say goodbye to our childhood the right way was stripped away from us. Finn McCarty As humans, we’re used to sticking to a regular routine. The structure seems to be the only thing keeping us from potentially going insane. We know what day of the week it is as soon as we wake up. There was a time not long ago when my alarm would ring at its usual time. I would drag myself out of bed knowing that it was 6:30 on a Wednesday. I had a subconscious sense of peace knowing that although school was stressful, I could at least see my friends and have some sort of closure at the end of the day. As soon as school was canceled, all of that went down the toilet. For the past 5 weeks, that sense of peace has been M.I.A. I’m up until 3 AM, restless and desperate to fall asleep. Then, once I wake up after my long-awaited sleep, one email after another comes rolling in, making me even more restless than before. My life has gone from a strict line of scheduling to a seemingly endless cycle of wallowing in self-pity and anxiety. For those who cannot understand how the seniors are feeling right now, try this analogy on for size. Imagine you are a hamster. You have lived your entire early life in a glass box with all the other hamsters. You play with the others, eat with the others, learn with the others, and even fight with the others. You’re used to the same giant hand reaching down and giving you food every day. Your whole life is dedicated to the box. You and your hamster friends have all been discussing what will happen after you leave the box. You know exactly when you will leave the box and have a general idea of your next step in life. But before you can run on your squeaky wheel or hang out with the other hamsters for the last time, the giant hand swoops in and snatches your from the box into another box, forced to be by yourself, leaving you with no answers to when you can go back to your normal life, or if you ever can. In these times of uncertainty, however, it is important to remember that you will be able to leave your box and roam around soon enough, just as long as you stay in your hamster ball. Connor Stahl Senior year, the time you are supposed to have the most fun in school people would say. There are so many activities you can do before they ship you off to work or to college. Before all of COVID-19, I was excited for my senior year because I was going to be able to ask my girlfriend to prom. Now all I can do is sit in my house and I can’t even see my girlfriend or my friends. Above all, I am just annoyed. I put all my time into being a good student and this was supposed to be the time where I was going to be rewarded for my hard work; being cooped up in my house getting cabin fever doesn't seem like a fitting reward. Matt Stearns This is an awful time for high school seniors across the world, but that's selfish to say, it’s an awful time for everyone. For many of my class peers, we can all agree that this tragic experience to go through that our prom and senior picnic, something which has held so many fond memories is gone. This is not the case for many students, me being one of them. I understand this situation and commend those who are working to keep everyone safe. It's good to have these cancelations but not ideal because of what time we're in; this is not a normal situation and will never be one. Am I disappointed to not have these senior activities? Yes, although I am sympathetic more towards people who are out there fighting. With that, I say stay safe and remember we will all make it out. Mya Pellegrino Since I was little, “High School Musical” was always one of my favorite movies. I've always pictured that's what my high school years should look like; full of joy and excitement. When I finally made it out of middle school and finally got the chance to call myself a high schooler, I was ready to live out my “High School Musical” fantasy. However, high school for me wasn't all singing and dancing 24/7, but it definitely brought me the joy and excitement I pictured. When I was just a little freshman, I was honestly terrified of what the future holds for me. However, I knew I had three more years until I really had to crack down on my future plans. Fast forward to junior year, by far the hardest year of High School, for me at least. The stress of getting exceptional SAT scores and thinking about college plans. Junior year brought me many tears and countless hours of staying up late at night studying, but I knew that the best year of High School was around the corner, senior year. August 29, my last “first” day of high school. I was filled with so many emotions: Excitement, joy, sadness, and fear. This was the last year at WHS and I knew it was going to be the best one yet. The fall started off great! I got captain for soccer, I had an amazing season with the girls and did not stress about anything, it was the best feeling in the world. Winter came around and it was around that time where we heard back from colleges. Let me tell you, I was super nervous, but once I heard back from my first school, I felt a sigh of relief go through my body, I was going to college! I finally chose a college and all the stress left my body. I knew the rest of the year was going to be the best..until a pandemic hit and my senior year was put on hold. The day I left school I was so happy to have a 2-week “vacation.” However, I didn't know that it would be as dangerous as it is, keeping me out of school for a little more than a month and possibly even more. I tried to stay as positive as I can and of course wanted everyone to be safe. It didn't really hit me that my senior year was basically over until we receive that text that activities were canceled. I wish I had the closure to our 12 years of school. I know that our faculty is under stress and can't control the virus to give us the senior year we deserve. I wish I got to tell some of my favorite teachers how much I appreciate all their love and support in my four years of high school before this happened. Honestly, having things taken away from us shows us to never take things for granted. I know I took some parts of High School for granted and wanted to graduate ASAP, but now, I wish I could walk down those halls one last time. Although I didn't get the ending in the “High School Musical” I wanted, I wanted to thank WHS for some of the best memories. Zane Tinker Amid all of these cancelations and disappointments, some may find it hard to see a positive light among all of this. Yes, it’s sad that all of our senior activities have been canceled, but other people are struggling much more than we are. Personally, I’m sad that all the fun parts of the end of our year have been canceled, but when it comes down to it, us staying home is just another step in trying to make sure that everybody stays safe, and this disease stays under control. It’s better to think about the doctors, nurses, and store workers, those who still have to go out, who risk their own safety to ensure that everybody else's lives, go smoothly. In our own sadness and reflection we should think about the time we had together, and the time we will have together after this all wraps up. Even though our activities have been canceled, it’s so that we can help keep everyone safe, and so we can do more fun things in the Future. We just have to keep holding onto that thought. Antonia Vardal I never thought March 13 would be my last day of senior year. It seems silly, but the only thing I remember about that day was the outfit I wore because I remember waking up early and taking the time to put extra effort in. What makes me saddest about this unprecedented loss of time is the realization that I may not have closure. I wanted to say goodbye to my classes, my teachers, my fellow classmates, and just have the time to say a proper farewell to WHS. The cancellation of prom, though it’s really disappointing to me, isn’t as upsetting as not getting to walk the halls of my high school one last time. I feel as though I should have appreciated the little things more. Tyler Wolf PROM AND SENIOR PICNIC CANCELLED? WHAT???!!! Well, I’m not really surprised with everything going on right now it makes sense or does it? That is the question that has the Class of 2020 wondering. There are some mixed emotions, for me personally I am disappointed for the fact that those opportunities were going to be the last for us as High School students to experience together. I thank you for keeping me safe from this COVID-19 pandemic. I know that some people may think you are doing a disservice, and I want people to know they are actually helping us. I know this stinks now with the COVID-19 and this virus being longer than projected. But this span of time of non-normal taught me that things in life do not go as planned, but we have to do our best to say look this is an unfortunate circumstance. I can be upset at something, but then I have to pep talk myself into thinking everything will be okay. It is not the worst thing that has ever happened. There are always new and exciting opportunities out there. Kaitlynn Bertucio & Kevin Torres Over the past few weeks of this very long and stressful quarantine, we honestly had hoped that Prom wouldn’t get canceled and there would still be a slight chance at getting to walk the stage for graduation with our families and friends there to watch. However, learning last week that Senior Prom was canceled us seniors had a breakdown about it. While many would think to just postpone it until the summer, a reason for why they just outright canceled prom is likely due to that all of us kids would be having vacations, packing to move to college, having graduation parties and trying to make the most of their last summer with their friends and seeing some family. We believe that because it’s senior year, more people would be willing to do it later on because there are kids who didn’t go any other year in high school and this is their last chance to go and they’ve waited for it because they maybe didn’t go any other year. We also believe that to our parents, this is a big deal for their children to go to prom because it's a memory for their children to cherish and hang pictures on the walls. We seniors would like to say a huge thank you to all the amazing teachers we've had over the past four years at WHS, and we'd like to say that we've had a great and memorable experience attending this school for four years. We have gained friends, we've lost friends, but over the past four years, it has only helped us to grow and become better people. We are grateful for all that we've gained and lost in these past four years and we will keep it all with us forever and remember all the good times and be thankful for the bad times that have hopefully helped us to change and grow as better people. Serena Console To Wethersfield’s Class of 2020, I think I could say for all of us that we never expected this to be the way our senior year would end and that we are disappointed. Many of us were told our senior year was going to be the best year of high school, but it’s hard for us to agree at this moment. I would say for many of us that the first semester wasn’t bad, but it is the second semester that we looked forward to because that was when we would experience our “lasts” of high school. We are all feeling similar about the decisions made in terms of our senior activities, being sad, angry, and frustrated, but I think we can say that we will be one of the classes that will go down in history, surviving all the uncertainty happening around us and having a story to tell in the future. Nafeeza Gafoor On the last day of Journalism class before the coronavirus, we had talked last how you encouraged that we used this time as a learning experience that most would never imagine could be this hard. Learning is not the same as in the classroom and interacting with others. If we return back to school, I would use all this time dedicated to me in the classroom to the best advantage. I never would have thought online schooling was much harder than being in school. Coronavirus has definitely kept me bored and quiet at home. It is not easy because I am definitely not used to sitting down or being home 24/7. I am struggling to keep up with my normal school day routine of just getting up on time, eating breakfast the time I used to, or even just going to bed. But as you said Martin, it is an experience. I just had my second birthday away from family. It's sad and it sucks but you gotta move on from the past and just forgive or you’ll stay stuck on being sad and letting that person or parties play with your emotions by letting them win. I am reminded of the quote, “Time is like a river, you cannot touch the same way water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again, so enjoy every moment of life.” Quarantine has taught me this opportunity cannot be regained. Thanks to all my teachers and guidance counselors without your help in and out of the classroom I would definitely lose my way. Andre Jorge & Kassandra Vazquez We learned as a senior class that all of our senior activities were canceled. Now as a staff member, you can see how fun those events were in the past and say that you’re sorry for not being able to experience them. But let’s be honest, we all grew up with an expectation of what high school would be like and one of those things that made high school so great was senior year. For the past three years, the Class of 2020 has been looking forward to ‘our year’ to be the best one. It’s absolutely upsetting that we as the Class of 2020 have been stripped of that closure. The thing that's the most upsetting is that this issue is bigger than just our class or the school. We as a class feel powerless in this situation, along with many others. We hope that our class not only gets to finish up our year and get our diplomas but also get some type of celebration for our class. As much as this situation sucks, we still deserve some type of recognition. Francesco Gionfriddo It’s devastating that I worked hard to get here and earn a right for prom, senior picnic, and other senior events even my own graduation got canceled. But in times like these, we have to look forward. It gives us time to focus on our futures. After high school ended, it was kind of sad but it is what it is being able to walk across the stage, hearing my name called, and hearing people clapping is something I’ve been waiting for my whole life. Hearing my family and friends from walking across and starting my future now I might have graduation over a screen. High school graduation is something you will remember for the rest of your life, and now I don't get a chance for that. It’s pretty sad. but as long as I graduate and get my diploma, I just have to look forward We need to focus and look ahead of these terrible times. Not having graduation can’t bring our motivation down, it should make us more hungry to go out there. Kayla Klavins Just as it was getting to the end of senior year a pandemic occurred canceling senior year activities by not being able to be in school or in large numbered groups. These events being canceled definitely have a hard impact on the senior class by not being able to be in school for the last days or go to prom or senior picnics to experience their last moments in high school all together. These last events would have brought the class of 2020 together for some of the last time. All though this is no one’s fault but the pandemic itself, it is sad to see we can't live out our senior events for our last time as high schoolers.
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 by: Mr. Martin, Journalism Teacher
When Wethersfield High School closed its doors in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students thought all learning was lost. However, the real learning had just begun. On March 13, our last day of physical classes at WHS, I had a long talk with my period two class. That discussion, wide-ranging and free-flowing, all followed this central pillar: That this experience could be a learning experience within itself. The articles you are about to read are borne from that idea. The thought was simple enough: Find some way over the next 30 days to make yourself better. This could be physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, or intellectual; as long as it is outside of your comfort zone and something you could have never done in our "regular" school setting. My students took to this like a duck to water, and proved to me that just because the school building is closed, learning does not have to end. In fact, learning extends far beyond the classroom, and students can use the skills they have learned and developed over time (research, experimentation, and especially resilience) to forge their own learning forward. In a way, it was the purest version of learning: unadulterated and driven by the student. Below you will read their initial stories, which I hope you take the time to read and make comments on. Stay tuned for further articles, videos, and podcasts, as this will all sum up in a final long-form article in the coming weeks. Enjoy, Mr. Martin  by: Gabriella Ammodio
Last week, I set out on a mission to read everyday, hoping it would improve my mental abilities. When I was younger, I actually enjoyed reading. As time went on, I became less and less interested and the girl that used to read in her free time wouldn’t even read books for class. I chose to get back into reading for those reasons and to help reduce stress. So far, I surprisingly haven’t had many difficulties with it. I’ve been able to read every day while also increasing my time reading. I think this is partly because I’ve developed a routine. I tend to do my reading right before I go to bed, it’s a good way to wind down after a long day and finish off the night. To start things off, I chose to read a book that I bought at a book fair in elementary school. I figured it would be good to ease into things and start with an easy read. It’s called P.S. I Like You and tells the story of two high school students that fall in love through notes they write to each other in chemistry class. I just recently finished that book and am onto my next book titled The Other Wes Moore. The hardest part so far has been transitioning between books. When I was in the middle of my first book, I found it easy to start reading because it felt like I had something to return to. Starting a new book was tough because I didn't have any connection to it. I ended up skipping a day after I finished the first book and before I moved on to the second. After finishing my first book, I can’t really say that my views on the world have necessarily changed, but I do find myself looking forward to reading and getting lost in a different world. I’m hoping that The Other Wes Moore will help me to start seeing a difference. This book has much more depth than the first book and discusses real-world issues.
by: Bella Samse
My article will be me vlogging all of the workouts and exercises I am doing. From ab workouts to simply going on a night walk with mom, I will be doing something to stay in shape. As we know, the Coronavirus has taken over and taken away so many important things from me, namely the fun class trip, prom, and most likely graduation, but it also took away sports. Growing up in sports has been such a huge influence on who I am today. The fact I played my last high school basketball game without knowing, with my team in the locker room for the last time without knowing, had my last pasta dinner without knowing, it is all so much to process. I still think that after this is all over I will be getting on a bus to play that quarter final state tournament game. I chose to do a vlog so I can see my face and see if I am enjoying it. I really hope that after this experience is done, I can go back and say I made the best of quarantine. I want to stay active, in shape, motivated, like I was in basketball. That was when I was happiest, on the court with a ball in my hand. I hope that as the days drag on, I can find the determination I had on the court, get these hard workouts done, and feel accomplished after doing it. I want to go on walks and feel the simplest bliss I did back when I was just waiting for the bus with my team. I miss it all so much and it will never come back. I hope that as my journey continues I accomplish my goal because I never made it to Mohegan, I want to find my run to the sun. By: Luciano Quagliaroli I've decided to learn how to play the Ukulele over this period of online schooling. I've had the instrument for years but I've never picked it up and really dived into it. I was able to finally do this because of all the free time I have on my hands. My goal is to be fluent in the majority of the chords and be able to play five songs very well. I chose learning Ukulele because over the last couple months I´ve realized that music is the most important thing to me. I appreciate it tremendously and I have no outlet to express my creativity or love for it. Learning the Ukulele has given me some sort of connection to the musical world besides just listening to it. My plan is to switch to guitar when I feel confident on Ukulele. My experience thus far has been such a blast. The first time I sat down with it, it was intimidating. But I was patient and stuck with it and I learned my first song, Let My Baby Stay by Mac Demarco. After that learning more chords and songs was just a matter of taking the time to do it and it came a lot easier to me. It is so much fun and I have moments when I play where I feel very at peace with myself. I hope to master the five songs I know by next week.   By Antonia Vardal
Let’s be honest: the idea of being quarantined in the house for weeks on end with nothing but our families and an almost nonexistent hope of the world ever returning back to normal is a hard pill to swallow. The state of our nation right now is bleak at best, and this leaves everyone, especially those with existing mental health difficulties, finding it hard to cope with daily life. When my journalism teacher instructed us to make the best of this situation by committing to a self-improvement project, a light bulb went off in my head. Why not focus on mental health? I’m experiencing firsthand the blows of anxiety and depression, and it’s no secret the global pandemic has caused it to flare up once again. So, with this in mind, I decided I would create my own 30 day mental health improvement challenge designed to ease my mind and overall make me a happier person. I began by searching 30 day mental health challenges on the internet and gathering the ideas that I liked, and added some of my own to create a list that was unique to me. I’m about halfway done, and so far I’ve learned a little more about myself in doing these activities. I’ve journaled about my feelings, treated myself to Taco Bell, and created an uplifting music playlist (pictured with this article). I have also acknowledged that skipping two activities because I don’t feel like doing them isn’t the best way to handle things, but that’s part of the process. I now know that coloring isn’t really my thing and neither is yoga. Everyone has different coping mechanisms and what works for one person may not work for another. As I dive into the second half of this challenge, I hope to discover further what helps me feel better and what doesn’t really work for me. Ultimately, it’s up to me to decide how to make the best of this quarantine. Though mental health is a challenge to me, it’s one I am willing to take on.  By: Kadin Joyce
For my quarantine project, I decided to put together a video journal documenting the process of a production and the new ideas I had while working on the Class of 2020 Senior Video. Over the summer when I was thinking of projects for my independent study, I came up with the idea to make a video dedicated to our senior year. I wanted to create something digital that the Class of 2020 can relate to, connect to, and look back on in the future. I chose to vlog the process because for future projects I want to be able to see the way I work and as I learn more about production, improve my creative process. Since quarantine, I’ve had a hard time staying motivated to work on this project because the biggest parts of senior year have been taken away from us, it felt like there was no purpose to my senior video anymore. I created a daily routine a few weeks ago to get myself back in the right mindset and I noticed I’m a lot more motivated and focused on my work. I've been a lot more creative and definitely excited to continue this project with my new ideas for the video. Believe it or not, the most difficult part of this project has been documenting the process through vlogging. Talking to a camera feels so uncomfortable to me and I always cringe when I edit the footage. Fear of judgment is definitely holding me back from feeling completely comfortable in front of the camera but the more I do it, the less I seem to think about others opinions. The plan for my video was to make montages of every major senior event and have interviews with seniors about post high school plans and their high school experience. With school closing due to COVID-19 and the likelihood of us not going back to school, I had to come up with new ideas and find a new way to put together the Class of 2020 Senior Video. Now the new idea is to follow through with the plan, play the montages and interviews then interrupt the video with COVID-19 news coverage on school closings and the world completely changing. I want the interruption to symbolize how everything changed so fast with no thought that the rest of our senior year would be taken away from us. The next step is to put it all into Adobe Premiere Pro and start editing together the video journals and finishing other parts of the senior video. By the end of this quarantine project my goal is to have the video journals put together along with some type of trailer for the senior video.  By Zack Grenier
Recently, I’ve been asked to embark on a certain “30 day” self-improvement project. Knowing my humble self, I had not a single idea on what I could possibly do, also considering I barely do much anyways. But then it struck me...why not actually DO something? I thought no better than to say yes to anything that would be brought up to me this next month until now. That being said, I regret ever making that decision. My mom saw the perfect opportunity to slack off and make me do all her work, starting with asking me to “clean the backyard.” I saw it as just raking some leaves and putting some things away. Wrong. Once I had seen her take the patio decor out in boxes and the outrageous number of plants in pots, I knew she was not playing around. Hours went by and finally the backyard was complete. Sadly, she wasn't done with me, asking me to now clean my room (which I had been putting off since the start of our “Coronacation”). To say the least, I am a very “I’ll do it later” type of person. Meaning I have not seen the hardwood floors of my room for the past month. I decided to get it over with and push through the procrastination. At the end, I felt a lot of stress lifted off me now that I can actually walk to my bed. Saying yes to everything may be a struggle but it does pay off in certain circumstances. I've already said yes to some plans next week such as hiking and wearing my “protective mask” my parents keep shoving in my face. Safe to say I will not be relaxing while learning from home this April. by: Alexis Almada
Being in quarantine has kind of put everyone in a funk. I know for me, I have been feeling really down and it's hard to cheer myself up by being stuck in a house for almost 4 weeks now. In order to keep myself busy, I usually find myself doing something creative. Whether it be making art, listening to music, taking photos, or making videos, I often rely on the arts to keep me entertained. So I thought, what better way to cure this quarantine depression than with a little bit of music? For this 30-day project, I thought I would teach myself how to play the piano, but things didn’t go to plan. I thought that learning the piano would be fun, a good stress reliever, and something to get me outside of my comfort zone, but I didn’t enjoy it. By the end of the first week, I started lacking motivation and it felt like more of a pain to sit down and play the piano than anything else. It was at this moment I realized why I stick to the visual arts and not performance. Recording myself playing the piano was awkward and if I’m being honest, I kind of didn’t want to do it. I started slacking really quickly and I knew I had to change my project. I started researching online some 30-day photography challenges that I could do and I decided to take my own spin on the challenge. I thought it would be a good idea to push my skills and creative thinking in design. Instead of taking pictures of things, I will be illustrating, collaging, photoshopping, and anything else I can think of along the way. I want to experiment and challenge myself. This past year, I started to become really passionate about art and graphic design and the more I can develop my skills, the better. I chose this as my new project because I already know it’s something I love to do, I am just pushing my artistic abilities. Some things that I have found challenging while creating my pieces is coming up with creative interpretations of the prompts I have listed for the 30 days. It has also been a little difficult to create a new piece every day because some of them take a long time to make. However, I am really enjoying this project because I am learning new techniques and styles along the way. My overall goal is to create an online portfolio with these 30 pieces describing the process, research, inspiration, and brainstorming along the way.  By: Kevin Torres
For my journalism class, we were assigned to complete any task we wanted over a 30 day period to do while in quarantine. These tasks could be a diet or exercise routine, anything that can benefit you for the future or at least something that can challenge yourself over the next month to better yourself as a person. After a week or so of debating, I decided to try out fixing my sleep schedule because, I’ll be honest, I have been staying up pretty late. Lately, I’m up until 3-4am, since we’ve been out of school, and I feel like I haven’t been as productive. My plan is to try to go up to bed and at least solidly attempt going to bed, and I will do this at an earlier and earlier time, as the days go on. I started this long-term project about two weeks ago, and, honestly, I haven’t had much luck. And while I was going up to bed earlier, about 12:30-1am, I would just lay there and stare at the ceiling for a good hour or two, tossing and turning. Whenever I would put my phone away I would usually lay there for a good few minutes without being able to sleep then hop back on YouTube. So my plan moving on will be to stop using my phone at a certain time before bed, probably around 11-12, because, in my research, I read that doing that will make you sleepier by the time you hit the hay, all in the hope that I can get closer to my goal of fixing my sleep schedule. by: George Rafti
When school was canceled due to COVID-19, my Journalism teacher Mr. Martin gave us all an assignment to choose a personal goal to improve ourselves. This personal goal lasts for four weeks and longer if we wish to continue. For my personal goal, I chose to improve my diet and workout at home without weights. So far, I don't like working out at home because when I am home I can stop whenever I want, but when I am at the gym I make myself workout for at least half an hour. Furthermore, I want to better my diet for the future and working out at home would also keep me in shape during the quarantine. Before quarantine, I had a horrible diet which was made up of mostly carbs, so this is a big change for me. If I stick to this, I believe I will begin to see changes within 2-3 weeks. I chose this because I want to see how much of a change a consistent workout plan with a change in diet can make on me personally. Also, I will not change my diet all at once, I will tweak it slowly. Furthermore, I have begun to add more protein to my diet, such as steak, eggs, chicken, and nuts. Also for my workouts I am going to do 10 sets of 15 pushups, 15 squats, 20 calf raises, 6 tricep dips, 5 pullups, and 5 chin ups. I’ll be continuing this for 4-5 days a week . As long as I do this, I'll add more to every set depending on what is easy and what is difficult. Currently, the hardest part is to keep up with the workouts, because I am lazy when I am home.. For now I just have to keep pushing myself to do the workouts. The diet is actually pretty easy to be honest. As long as I eat the foods I like that contain protein I'm pretty alright with it. I have to keep away from anything too sugary like chocolate or frosted flakes. Everynow and then I do eat some sugar but that's because I also want to enjoy my diet, so I do cheat a bit.
Mr. Martin's note: We have a lot of students that chose the goal of 100 push-ups per day throughout their quarantine. Instead of posting multiple posts of the same article type, I consolidated their stories. You can read them all here.
Kyle Edman's Story How Jed has stayed active in quarantine By: Kyle Edman Over the last week and a half, I decided to physically challenge myself by doing 100 push-ups and sit-ups everyday and I am going to continue to keep my grind strong. I am going to maintain doing my push ups and sit ups over the next two and a half weeks for a total of four weeks long. This is what I wanted to do and it has definitely motivated me. I decided to choose this kind of project because I have always been interested in my body physique and how I look so I can have a lot of self-confidence. Another reason I decided to do this is because now that I have completed my four years of football I don’t hit the weights as hard as I used to and with the whole COVID-19 outbreak all the gyms are closed so I felt like this was the project that would be perfect for me to do. Staying in great shape and being physically fit is really important to the human body and this is something so simple that anyone can do at their home that will keep them active and healthy and get you stronger. During the start of my workout grind, I was thinking to myself, “This is going to be such a waste of time and I am just gonna do it for class because I have to.” After only a few days I was really sore and tired but I was starting to love what I was doing. I realized that is great for me and not only is it helping me but it is also keeping me on a schedule to do my push-ups and sit-ups every day. Working out is a huge motivator for me. I have learned that I am going to hurt that’s normal and I have been doing research and watching videos and this has also motivated me to drink a lot of water and just be healthy in general. For next week, I hope to accomplish my goal of doing my sets every day and Increase the number of push ups and sit ups I do in each set as of right now I have done 5 sets of 20 and 4 sets of 25 for a total of 100 each but I hope to increase the number and eventually be able to do two sets of 50. My overall goal is to become stronger.
Jillian Gray's Story
Starting a couple of days ago, I made the commitment for the next 4 weeks that I will push myself to do 100 push-ups and 100 sit ups a day. See now doesn’t that just sound like a fun idea? I chose this experiment because while being bored all day because of Covid-19, it gave me a way to get up and get active. Staying healthy and taking care of my body is a huge thing to me, and this experiment kind of makes me and motivates me to do this every day for the next 4 weeks. Oh, how I thought this would be easy. Little did I know, the first day really kicked my butt. I tried cranking out all 100 push-ups at one time and all 100 sit ups at one time, and I just want to tell you that it was a huge mistake. After the first day, my body was aching and it felt so sore to move. After learning my lesson the first day, I decided to start slow, only doing 10 push-ups and switching to 10 sit ups. I alternated back and forth until I hit 100 of each exercise. As the days went by, the exercises got easier and it made me feel more confident. On most days, the sit ups were a breeze, but let me tell you that the push-ups really tire me out on most of the days. It got me frustrated when the push-ups or sit ups were getting hard and I just kept on thinking that I wasn’t strong enough. But at the end of the day, that one thought pushed me to complete the exercises each day. I want to prove to myself that I was strong enough and that by the end of the 4 weeks I can do all the exercises at once.
Sarmin Alikavozovic's Story
I have chosen to do 100 pushups every single day for the next two weeks. I choose to do this and I am going to write an article about it or make a project on it and see what things I notice from before vs. after doing the push ups. I wanted to do this because i used to go to the gym and I stopped , so I wanted to see what happens when you do 100 pushups every single day. I've been doing 100 pushups every single day for the past week and a half and I feel so much better and energized from when I first started. I wanted to face these challenges and do this exact exercise because I want to have a good body and I want to work on it and face the obstacles, both mental and physical. For example, when I first started to do the pushups I had to split it into sets of 20 and do 20 maybe every 45 minutes. After the first 3-4 days, I was able to do 50-60 pushups at a time with no rests. I would say that I'm seeing progress in my arms and chest and it's making me addicted to doing more and more. By next week I want to accomplish 700-800 pushups and I want to do 80-90 push ups in a row without taking a break. I feel like 100% I can do it, I just have to have enough sleep and be motivated to do it.
Jimmy Luiz's Story
For my project during this time at home, instead of just being lazy all day everyday until the world goes back to normal, I chose to better myself. I took on the challenge of doing 100 push ups a day and during these two weeks, I have actually gotten the motivation to do the 100 push ups no matter what and add a whole workout to them every day. I am doing this because I love fitness and I used to go to the gym a lot. I would have had track season right now and, since it is not happening, I want to keep my body strong and healthy. At first it was tough because I was weaker than normal but as the days have gone on, I am back and I'm going to be better than ever very soon. I have split my days up into a push day, pull day, and then legs. I have done all the workouts in my house which I am very lucky to have weights to get it done. At first, the push ups were a challenge but I kept at it and now the push ups are getting easy but every single day my body is sore and I love it. It makes me feel better than yesterday and all i want is to wake up every day knowing i got stronger yesterday and I'm going to get even stronger today. by: Natalia Travaglini Mr. Martin assigned us a project where we have to do something new that benefits us. I chose to expand on my creativity and challenge myself by doing a new makeup look each day of the week. In my regular routine, I never had lots of time to try something new, I always stuck with the same routine of a basic neutral colored look. Since we are on quarantine and have all this extra time, I figured I could spend time doing colorful eyeshadow looks and going outside of my comfort zone. I started to experiment with colors like orange and red and even green. At first I did not have confidence on how things were going to turn out, but by the end I was proud of myself. The looks cme out much better than I thought.  One day, I did this rainbow look where the colors of the rainbow were only at the very top of my eyelid. This was hard to do because this look required patience and a steady hand. Another look I did was an orangey red eyeshadow with a bold red lip. This look was actually even more out of my comfort zone because I covered my whole lid in shadow and then added a colored lip which I never do.  The hardest part for me was coming up with the looks, so I made sure to look up some inspiration from artists and influencers to help me come up with what I wanted to do. I hope to eventually be able to do enough looks like these, so I can eventually be able to do them without looking at someone else as a guide.
 This is my favorite meal that I have prepared. It is Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos. I did not take a picture, so I found this one online from the recipe that I used to make the meal. by: Dzenita Korkutovic
For my project, I’m trying out veganism for the very first time. To have a vegan diet means that you cannot eat anything that comes from animals (dairy, meat, fish, and eggs.) This means a really restrictive diet from what I’m used to. I chose to do this diet because it is something that is out of my comfort zone. I am a very picky eater with a lot of food items, but there are still many things I love to eat. In addition, my aunt has been a vegan for almost five years and I have always been interested in trying the diet to see how different you feel when eating vegan products versus eating animal products, and how it changes your body. Also, I want to consider the changes that your body may go through from changing the diet and kinds of food you are putting in your body. I was at my aunt’s house for almost two weeks so she could help me with planning vegan meals. We planned many meals with products like vegetables, fruits, meat alternatives or plant based proteins, and dairy alternatives. It was hard at first because of the fact that it was not what my body was used to. I love products like chicken, beef, cheese, and milk, all of which come from animals. I had been tempted a couple of times to give up and eat some chicken but I did not. Eating or drinking the alternatives, such as veggie meat or soy/almond milk had a huge impact on my digestive system, as my stomach was hurting for the first few days because my body was not used to eating and drinking all of these new food items. I have learned and begun to appreciate things throughout my journey so far. The most important thing I have learned so far is how my physical health has noticeably increased since beginning this diet. My body has been feeling so much healthier and I have more energy to do everyday things that I normally do. Next week, I hope to accomplish the diet without any cheat days or any temptations. I feel like it will be easier because I am beginning to get used to the new foods I have been eating to stick to the vegan aspect of the diet. Learning the history of video games: How one student used quarantine to rebuild a 25-year old game4/22/2020  by: J'Von Cooper Ever since the technological break in the late 80’s and early 90’s, many have turned to the virtual world in order to escape the stresses of the real one. Some binge watch their Netflix backlog, some finally start their New Year’s resolution four months into the year and start getting in shape. And some research the minutiae of an over twenty-five year old game engine in order to create their very own game, just for kicks. ...Just me? In all seriousness, I wanted to learn what it takes to create an enjoyable virtual experience. It’s one thing to play your backlog of seldom played classics, impulse bought titles, and viral mobile games, but I wanted to do something more productive than that. Doom (Or doom, or DooM, or DOOM, can’t quite tell) has been a game near and dear to my heart ever since I started high school. If it wasn’t for it’s fast, kinetic gameplay, or it’s welcoming community of talented content creators, it’s the many available tools one can use to create their own content. And I did create my own content three years ago, and it was bad. So, with a pandemic that’s projected to take months to pass, I decided to go at it one more time. This time, with a plan.  One of my original DOOM map designs. Floor plans, for one, but also in what I want out of these levels. When playing a game like Candy Crush Saga, while simple from the outset, every level is handmade to increasingly challenge the player.
and perhaps make you buy a few extra lives in the process. My point being I’m going into this project expecting to spend hours on the level layouts alone. If not a day or two on how the player will traverse and navigate it. By the end of this project, I want something that I can share with my peers and be proud to share. If for nothing else, I was to prove to myself that I’ve grown as a game designer. Pride’s not something I tend to gamble with, but I’ve sat myself at the Poker table, and I’ve got chips to move. And, who knows, maybe I’ll make the right people proud and end up at Microsoft. A guy can dream.
by: Finn McCarty
I’ve always been a clumsy person, which makes it difficult for me to keep my hands steady when using a guitar. However, I’ve been using this quarantine to break these boundaries and sharpen my skills. I decided to teach myself to play lead guitar...or at least try. When I began, I didn’t have the confidence to keep my heart set on a goal, so I went into it with the mindset that I wouldn’t be achieving anything any time soon. Nevertheless, I persisted, and within a week I had already learned my first solo. My journey was painful. This is especially because my fingers hurt most of the time while I practiced. I’m excited to see what else I can achieve while I’m trapped indoors until further notice. Watch the video to see me progress from frustration to enthusiasm within 8 days!  By: Bella del Aguila At the beginning of this assignment, way back when we were still in physical school, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I couldn’t think of an area of my mind that was open for improvement. I can rarely answer personal questions like that because it just makes me blank out. For example, when I had to fill out all the request forms for teacher recommendation letters, there were a few questions about what I believe to be my best qualities. How do you even answer that? I don’t enjoy judging myself on things like that because I never want to appear narcissistic or, contrarily, insecure. I feel like I completely lose my sense of self when I get asked those types of questions, but I’m not sure why. It’s just a thing that happens. Upon starting this project, I also didn’t feel that I could consistently reach for a certain goal without falling behind or getting bored. I looked for suggestions online and came up with nothing, so I was about to give up and just go with something simple, like reading every day. I’m okay with reading, so it couldn’t be that difficult to do something like that. But I needed to do something that I was more passionate about, something that I was more excited to accomplish, rather than just a pastime for some academic credit. Then, it hit me: I should create a new piece of art every day.  To make a long story short, no I should not.
I tried going with the “one new piece a day” routine, but it drained me of all creativity and motivation by the time a single week had passed. The issue here was that I had already started for the whole week, so it wasn’t like I could change my project topic at that point. So, in order to keep the motivation flowing but also not overwhelm myself with work, I had to come up with a new plan. I decided to just write down any ideas that popped into my head at any given time, and then bring the concepts to life at my own pace. This is the new system that has helped me in getting back into my own art, and it’s keeping me active in the creative process. Things had been getting frustrating before, but I’m finally producing good work again so I’d say it was a functional idea. by: Nathan Loura
Pushing yourself and discipline has always been instilled in me since I was a baby by my father. He always taught me that when you feel the most tired that is when you have to push yourself even more. I based my project off of that mindset. I wanted to get my mile pace back to what it was when I was about 16. My record mile pace was 5.17 minutes per mile. However I lost that pace because I started to go for longer runs so I tried to go with a more steady pace rather than going for speed. However, while doing this project I decided to get back to my old ways. I started this project with one thing in mind and that was to beat my own personal record. With all the gyms closed down and not much other things to do other than do mostly cardio and running. I decided to take my old approach. I used to do 6 miles in the morning which is where I was able to get that fast pace going and set my 5.17 minute pace record for myself. However, then I decided to start doing 12 miles instead of 6. That is when my time started to increase because I felt that I wouldn’t be able to keep my 5.17 minute pace running 12 miles without stopping. So eventually my pace increased all the way up to 6.00 minutes flat and varied around there. Some days being more and others being less. The first week, I brought it back down to 6 miles but my pace was still a little high. By the end of the first week I was able to get my pace down to about 5.51 minutes per mile. It was a progress, but it wasn’t as much as I wanted it to be. The second week that is when I was really happy with my progress. I was able to get my pace down all the way to 5.30 minutes per mile. Which was about 21 seconds better than the previous week. This project is very important to me because it gives me the opportunity to compete against myself. I feel that the biggest competition you’ll ever face is the person staring back at you in the mirror. That is who I am competing with when I am doing my project and I want nothing more to keep setting new records for myself so that I can break them and make new records. That is why I chose this for my project, so that I can get in that mindset and apply it to other parts of my life and also apply it to the ring as well.  by: Mya Pellegrino
While being stuck in my house for almost 3 weeks (and eating everything in sight), I started to become really lazy and had no motivation to do any physical activity. However, I decided it was time to change that! I wanted to do something that would force me to be active while also eating a lot healthier. I came up with the idea of either trying out different workouts or something that affected my eating habits like trying a detox drink for a week or so. I chose to do something that affected my health because being quarantined in my house gave me too much time on my hands, that wasn't being used up. I was spending countless hours watching Netflix and scrolling through TikTok. I found myself eating way too much junk food and not being productive at all, and it needed to stop. Now, I had plans to vlog what I have been doing over the past week and to be honest, I keep forgetting. However, over this past week, I wanted to do something that forces me to be active, so I tried running about three miles a day. I wanted to do something that involved running because it gives me a chance to exercise and why not take advantage of the warm weather! Honestly, I've felt so productive after going for a longer run than usual. It makes me want to keep going during the day, rather than sit around or take five naps. I've also been trying to eat a lot healthier and I've been feeling great and full of energy!! For this upcoming week, I'm trying to cut out eating a lot of carbs and try to balance the foods I eat. I think it will be a small challenge trying to cut out carbs, but if it makes me feel better it's a challenge I'm willing to take.  One of my goals: a daily workout. by: Serena Console
Before we all realized that two weeks of quarantine was not enough time to return our “normal” lives, the original idea for my two week project for journalism was to organize my house. At the time I thought that it would be a great way to kill time, but after finding out we would be in quarantine for much longer than two weeks, I decided to try something that would benefit my physical, mental, and emotional well being. My new idea was to create a new every day routine. During the time that we were in school, most of us had the simple routine of waking up, going to school, and then the after-school plan: eating, then sleeping, but now we’re stuck at home and our routines have definitely changed. To fix this problem, I decided to create my own routine of what I need to do in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I was struggling to get started so I spoke with English teacher, Mr. Martin and he helped me get started on this routine. He was able to provide me with great information based on his personal experience of following a routine. Mr. Martin shared with me that having a great morning leads to the rest of the day being just as great. With the information I was given, I decided that I need to eat something good in the morning and do all my school work before noon so that it was out of the way and it helped me have time for other things, such as working out or organizing. While trying out the new routine, I faced some challenges and the biggest challenge was having motivation. I struggled to have motivation to push myself to workout that day and to get up or go to bed at the time I set. That lack of motivation definitely overpowered me some days where I felt sad about myself, but those moments also helped me look at myself and say that I need to do this because I know it will help me. Although this was a project, I am going to continue working on this routine because this distance learning is very similar to what college will be like. You have your own routine in college because classes are not always back to back and some of the work you do is being done on your own time. Continuing this routine will help me get a start on training my mind and body to having a more independent every day routine.  By Tyler Wolf
A few weeks ago, Mr. Martin, my journalism teacher, asked us students, “If there is anything you wanted to do in life, what would it be?” We had the next four weeks from the start of Distance Learning to complete a project that finds meaning or a task you would like to do. After going through many ideas (TikTok videos, drumming, and woodworking), I decided that I would read the Bible. Not only can I do this project independently, but it is something that would be beneficial for me in my life. Growing up in a Christian household, We read the bible a lot. We were so involved in our church, we read our Bibles regularly, at least four times a week. Everything was good until when I got to Middle School, I was lonely. I did not have many friends. I felt like with the friend I had, I started to become a person I am not. I thought the only way I was going to get friends, was to be funny. This is how I started to use vulgar language, thinking if I did that in conjunction with being funny would make me fit in (Before this, I had a sense of humor but it was appropriate and respectful). I was making the same poor choices throughout ninth, tenth and eleventh grade. This is especially true when I was in tenth grade. Long story short I was trying to be funny, which led to hurting a lot of people's feelings. It was not until recently that I felt it was important to get back to being more devoted to my roots and Christianity. I came back to the realization that if I live life as a Christian then my life would change. I decided to be fully devoted again, as opposed to being halfway devoted. I planned to read the Bible for at least ten minutes every day. I found that it was not too hard, however, I found that, without our standard school and life schedule, it was easy to lose track of time aspect . The main reason why I forget the time is because I find myself in a work related state of mind, or I find myself too tired after a long day to do anything but watch a movie or go to bed. When I don’t read I feel this sense of non accomplishment, like the one big thing I want to change in my life and I forgot it again! That can be frustrating! What drives me to read at least ten minutes a day is the fulfillment of knowing my life will be more fantastic than it already is! I am planning on setting on time on reading the Bible, so I don’t lose track of time. The big difference between reading the Bible now versus when I was a child is the fact that I am reading the actual version as opposed to a children’s book compiled with stories within the Bible instead of chapters. This is week two of my project and while I had some inconsistencies in days, I realized that all I can do is try my best and move forward in this process. This has been a really gratifying experience to be able to have God more involved in my life. I feel like a more grateful, caring, helpful, thankful, respectful and most importantly happier than I felt in a long time.  By: Zane Tinker We’ve all been thrust into an interesting situation with this quarantine, everybody is stuck at home all of a sudden with a lot more time on their hands. This leads to the question, what is one to do with all this extra time? Yes, most of us love lounging around, but it’s times like this where we have a chance to do something new and check something off of our bucket list. So many people have newfound time and everybody is going to something different with it. My entire life I have been surrounded by music of all sorts, I’ve sang in various choirs and I have played percussion instruments for well over half a decade. I am using this quarantine as an excuse to finally teach myself the Ukulele. The Ukulele is a Hawaiian string instrument that I can play as I sing. Singing while playing a percussion instrument can be a lot more challenging. Teaching myself this instrument hasn’t been nearly as easy as I anticipated, I never expected learning how to use a fret board would be as confusing as it actually turned out to be. For someone with large hands like myself, the instrument and its strings are quite small. My finger tips weren’t used to pushing down the strings and they felt sore after an hour of practicing. Even so I am making progress, however slow it may be. Although I’m not too proficient at the Ukulele yet, this experience has been very beneficial, by giving me time to reflect on myself as well as the position I’m in.
by: Connor Stahl
Let's first start off on why I am doing this article, I am here talking to you today because Mr. Martin wanted us to do something to better ourselves during this time. With this, I decided to do the Evil Russian Pushup Challenge. Intimidating, I know, but I wanted to do this because want to get stronger and I have always made excuses for not working out and now I can do it all. This challenge makes you stronger by making you do pushups every day based on a percentage of your max pushup, (I will link the challenge so you can see the percentages for yourself). When I first started , it was pitiful, I was only able to do 10 pushups. After the first week, I could do 15 and now, at the end of the two week challenge, I can do 20 in a row, that's a 100% increase in strength! From there, because I liked it so much I decided to do it for another two weeks. During this time, it wasn't just all rainbows and ponies there were some good days and bad days, that's what makes it a challenge. For the first week, my arms were burning every day; from not doing push ups that often to doing it every hour put a strain on me. The strain wasn’t just physical, it was mental as well. Imagine dropping whatever you are doing to do push ups and even after all this time, it is still hard to do. In the beginning, I kind of hated my alarm, it was a reminder that it was a time to work. Now, it has become part of the daily routine and it doesn't bother me that much anymore, I see it as a chance to improve myself. I am definitely glad to have this program because without it I dought I would be pushing myself as hard to work out. On that note check out the video below for my first weekly check in. https://mygymproducts.com/evil-russian-push-up/ 
By: Matt Silver
After being tasked with the creation of a routine in which I did something every day for upwards of a month, I took it upon myself to try to fully immerse myself into the Star Wars saga. I would watch one movie a day, in chronological order (starting at episode I, then going to II, III, IV, and so on). While this began as a movie-watching project, at this point, it is much more than just that. Why Star Wars? And why now? Both questions are valid, and I wondered about them myself at some points during my journey. I chose the Star Wars movie series for a couple reasons, a main one being that there were enough movies so that it would fall into the minimum time guidelines of the project. The second reason was because of my community. Star Wars is, and has been, a huge deal in our society. That being said, up until this point I had never seen the originals, leaving me left out. It feels as if everyone around me has some sort of secret going when they reference different scenes in a movie, or even understand different parts of a video game. I wanted to get in on these secrets. 
One of the many inside Star Wars jokes I've missed over the years.
They became apparent when I started watching the series, that’s for sure. Because of the over-dramatised scenes in the old movies, catch phrases were easy to point out. I found myself subconsciously repeating them at times during my day, especially the quote above.
At this point, I have finished all except for the newly produced movies in the series (VII, VIII, IX) and I must admit, I am enjoying these films more than I originally thought that I would. The production quality of the older movies, while quite old, gave them some charm that directors can only hope to recreate. Throughout my viewing process I had some lows, but mostly ups. The movies are truly enthralling and except for episode IV and V, they have good enough quality to make up for their age. Episode IV (1977) and episode V (1980) were lackluster compared to their other counterparts, but that is coming from someone who is used to perfect CGI and modern editing. For their time, it is understandable why they were so popular. By the end of this coming week, I will have completed the series. I am planning on creating a video breaking down how I felt after watching each film, and my takeaways after watching the entire set.  By: Audrey Mainville It is week one into my learning of how to play the piano. Not really piano, seeing that the only accessible piano-like device I have is a Casio keyboard from... I think 2000 something? I’m not complaining though, it’s all the same to me. I took on this task primarily because I have spent the last few months deep in a void of music. I listen to around fifty-sixty songs a day, and no matter the genre, the year, or the song, I hear piano in everything. There are so many instruments I could focus on, however, there’s just something about piano that seems universal, and relatively easy, though I may be judging too soon. I have begun to learn the song, “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. I picked it through a simple Google search, “easy songs to learn on piano,” yes I realize how lame that sounds, but so far it’s been a comfortable song to learn. The biggest issue I currently face is learning to coordinate two hands. One hand is playing the lyrics, if you will, and the other hand is keeping a steady beat underneath. The timing of these two hands aren’t always in sync, and I have a difficult time grasping that. By next week, I hope to link the two hands, and hopefully be further into the song. I also am hoping to learn how to read actual music, instead of mimicking a video (since that’s what I’ve been doing for now). For now I’m quite pleased with how things are turning out. Beginner’s luck maybe? Who knows - all I can say is that I find the musically inclined to be the best type of people. I guess you could say I just want a piece of that. |
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