I first started realizing things were bad when we didn’t have school. School being canceled was a shocking (also happy) thing to happen. This was March 13, 2020. Everything past this point was different. It wasn’t good or bad, just different. Just to go to the grocery store, everyone had to wear a medical face mask. Not even just the grocery store. Going outside in public places with more than a few people, going to restaurants, or entertainment places. All of these required a mask to be worn. At first, it was very suffocating but after 2 years of wearing them, you barely notice. During the peak of the pandemic, March and April of 2020, places were starting to close down. Some of my favorite resturants and areas to hang out, like parks, just weren’t open anymore. At some point, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) advised not to go out in groups of people. This is when quarantine happened. People couldn’t leave their house unless going to the grocery store or getting basic needs. I felt so isolated during this time. Of course, I have my mom and aunt who I lived with but I couldn’t see my friends. Socializing is a big thing I need and without seeing people I didn’t know what to do. I had recently quit gymnastics when quarantine happened, but I was regretting it deeply. My sleep schedule in the spring and summer started to get very unhealthy. I would watch tv shows all night, as last at 5 am and then wake up well into the afternoon the next day, 2 pm.

Many things during this time were depressing, but I picked up new interest since I had so much free time. I started to watch a lot of television. I just got into anime and was watching about 1 show a day. There are so many genres that I just couldn’t get bored. I would listen to music every second of every day; Hip Hop, Pop, R&B, and KPOP. I discovered Kpop during this time as well. This genre was just so fun because of the many sounds used and different languages. When watching the music videos, pops of vibrant colors were everywhere as well as amazing dance moves. I also know that some of my friends, that I texted, never went outside or got any fresh air. Unlike them, I still had a dog that I had to walk at least three times a day. Going outside during the summer was a good getaway from the boring indoors. The yellow sun burned down on my skin and felt as if it was close to the Earth. For some reason, last summer felt like the hottest summer I’ve ever experienced.