2021 was both better and worse than 2020. I was starting to feel fed up with all of the abnormalities to my life that Covid brought, and the anger that everyone had towards everyone. However, life was creeping back towards normal, and in the spring of 2021 I made an exciting discovery that made everything feel better – there were so many ways to braid! I think braiding may have changed the way I face the world more than anything else that happened during the pandemic. It gave me something to care about and get excited about and it gave me something to be confident in. It was a creative outlet in something I was both good at and loved doing.

In the fall I started dual enrolling during Covid rules. It hasn’t been easy – it’s hard to understand people wearing masks, and I hate not knowing what anybody’s face really looks like. That being said, it has been an overall fun experience, getting a glimpse of what college is like and discovering for myself that homeschooling really hasn’t put me at any disadvantage.

Maybe, when I look back at the hardships and the good things of this time, I will be able to have a better understanding of the world and how people are. And if I wish things had been different, Terry Pratchett can keep me looking at the future:

“You can’t say ‘if this didn’t happen then that would have happened’ because you don’t know everything that might have happened. You might think something’d be good, but for all you know it could have turned out horrible. You can’t say ‘If only I’d…’ because you could be wishing for anything. The point is, you’ll never know. You’ve gone past. So there’s no use thinking about it.” ― Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies