Written by Sophie Tang
School hasn’t started since March 13th. When people first found out about school being closed for an extra 2 weeks after March Break, everyone was overjoyed. This meant an extra two weeks of no school and being able to enjoy more time at home. However soon the two extra weeks turned into months and before we knew it school had ended.
But being at home also meant that we could develop new hobbies or improve old ones. Some hobbies that I personally found returned to were knitting, baking and panting. When we first heard about school being closed I was disappointed as I actually did want to go back. I find the environment at school motivates me to work harder. However, on the brighter side this also meant that us students could take more time to work on our mental health and hobbies.
Since quarantine started mental health has also been a topic that got thrown around and talked about. Mental health is very important and can not be stressed about enough. When staying in the house for a while only surrounded by your family and e-learning 24 hours of the day, from the same spot, it can become stressful. Talking to friends on social media is an enjoyable form of communication; however, it is vastly different from talking to someone face to face. This could cause people to become more anti-social and more stressed.
I have interviewed a few classmates and friends on how they feel about quarantine and their experiences. I asked the following questions:
What have you done over this quarantine
How has it impacted your mental health
How did you feel about e-learning as a whole and will you be able to continue e-learning in September?
Aliyah Diaz was first interviewed and she is a student going into grade 11 at Monarch Park Collegiate. I first met her in grade 9 and we instantly became friends through mutual interests and peers.
Lisa Yang was interviewed next, she is a student who is going into grade 11 IB at Monarch Park Collegiate. Lisa has been an old friend of mine that I have known since elementary school.
Lisa and Aliyah each gave me insightful and unique answers.
Interview with Aliyah
Sophie Tang: What have you done over this quarantine?
Aliyah Diaz: Since I turned 16, I have been practicing and preparing for my drivers test (G1) and for my courses that I will be taking in September, such as grade 12 physics. I have also been online on social media quite a lot to talk to friends. I have also been more active around the house ,interacting with my siblings and helping with cleaning.
Sophie Tang: How has it impacted your mental health?
Aliyah Diaz : Overall it has impacted my mental health in a negative way. I feel more sad and unhappy these days. I am unable to escape my house and am constantly surrounded by my family, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing however I also want to be able to interact with my friends. I overall miss talking to my friends face to face, and not through a screen.
Sophie Tang: Overall, how did you feel about e-learning as a whole and will you be able to continue e-learning in September?
Aliyah Diaz: It’s not my ideal way of learning; however, overall it wasn’t a bad process. I definitely prefer seeing things face to face and not through a screen. However if e-learning has to continue in September, I won’t mind as it is still somewhat convenient.
Sophie Tang: Have you started any new hobbies or re-visited any old ones?
Aliyah Diaz: I haven’t started any new hobbies, but I did start an old one. When I was younger I used to do nail art and since quarantine started, I have had lots of time on my hands and re-visited nail art again. I have also been reading more and started watching anime.
Bread Sophie made amidst quarantine
Interview with Lisa
Sophie Tang: What have you done over this quarantine?
Lisa Yang: When school was still in session I would be doing the e-learning courses required. However, once school ended I still did e-learning courses as I signed up for grade 11 computer science and grade 12 physics. I also did exercise in the backyard with my brother and played badminton. I hung around social media to talk with friends and play video games.
Sophie Tang: How has it impacted your mental health?
Lisa Yang: I feel that quarantine has not impacted my mental health at all. I do not feel much of a difference except that I can’t go to school and talk to friends any longer. However, I talk to them online so I’m not missing much.
Sophie Tang: Overall, how did you feel about e-learning as a whole and will you be able to continue e-learning in September?
Lisa Yang: I don’t mind e-learning as a whole, and if it’s like this in September it’s ok. Since I’m doing e-learning for summer school too. However there are certain subjects that I do not want to do with e-learning, I feel that language subjects such as english and french are easier. But subjects such as chemistry and math I feel will be harder to learn over zoom. Chemistry since it has so many labs and math since overall usually, math is a bit harder to learn. Nonetheless,I also find e-learning fun which is why I signed up for grade 11 coding in July.
Sophie Tang: Have you started any new hobbies or re-visited any old ones?
Lisa Yang: I started many new ones such as helping my mom bake and cook. I have continued some old ones such as piano, and reading. I also did coding using java which is pretty fun.
Lisa and Aliyah both gave insights into their lives. Some parts are different, and some parts are the same. However they both agreed that quarantine brought a new perspective of how our daily lives can be affected so much. When this all started no one thought of how much of an impact this would have.
Books Lisa has read
About the Author
Sophie Tang is a grade 11 IB student at Monarch park interested in science and wants to work toward the medical field. She has a passion for reading and loves the dystopian genre- some of her favorite books include, "The Hunger Games" and "Shadowhunters". In her free time she experiments with different types of art such as sketching and working with acrylic paint.
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