In the past four months, I spent most of my time applying to colleges, doing my school work, self-studying for AP classes, and also maintaining friendships with my friends. And because both my families were concerned about the Covid-19, I started my senior year still doing classes remotely. I appreciate that the school gave us opportunities to take classes online, but many people had asked me how I lived through those days. It was not easy, but eventually, I got used to it after living this way for about ten months. 

At the beginning of the school year, everyone was adapting to these new circumstances – not only the remote learners but also the students attending classes in person. For instance, everyone needed to learn how to use Canvas. Teachers were trying to do live classes with me on Zoom; I appreciate the effort each of them had put into online learning. For the first two months, my focus was on my college applications, writing my essays, and meeting with college counselors. College application is a tedious, stressful, and unpredictable process; I believe everyone agrees on that. Especially since I was alone during those months, I did not know if I was on the right track and had no idea how my classmates were doing. I felt the only thing I knew was that I had to finish my applications and submit them before the deadline. Those two months were difficult, but I tried my best to have fun with it. Sometimes I would FaceTime my friends and we chatted about school. Through their support, I survived this tedious process, and I am grateful for having those friends with me. 

Taking Zoom classes is challenging; we all had the experience of doing remote learning this year. I consider it as training for time management and preparing for college life. It is all about self-control and self-management. I usually followed my plans quite well, and most of the time, I was productive. However, there were times I just lost the motivation to finish my work. When those moments came to me, I would go out for a run, do some exercise, or just sit on my chair watching those birds in the backyard fighting each other on the bird feeder. After those moments disappeared, it was fairly easy to get back on track and focus on my work. I believe it would be different if I were in school. The thing I miss most about going to school is communicating with my friends, classmates, and teachers. Even though I could see them on my screen and talk to them on my phone, it was different than meeting them in person. 

I am looking forward to joining my class back in person and starting my second semester on campus!

Carol Li ’21, Sports Editor

21cli@montroseschool.org