Murrieta, CA:

I have been through many challenges during the coronavirus as a student, daughter, and athlete. As a student before quarantine, I had always relied on live interactions with my teachers to get the full learning experience. I had access to extra tutoring and was able to form supportive relationships with my teachers. Now with the coronavirus, I am completely independent in my learning and journey throughout senior year. It is lonely to be isolated from my peers and losing the one magical year that I had worked so incredibly hard for. My teachers try their best, but I feel as though I am not developing as a student. Through these difficult times, I will keep my grade point average high, but lose my experiences as a senior forever. As an athlete, I have worked and waited ten years for this year to be golden and blissful. Luckily, I committed to the Naval Academy and found my future home, but it was not the cherished moment I was hoping for. There were no teammates or coaches around to congratulate me and no celebratory party for my hard work paid off. Although exciting moments as an athlete were robbed from me, I know the journey getting here has shaped me into the person I have dreamt to be, and the coronavirus can never steal that from me. Even though I have experienced trials as a student and athlete during the coronavirus, nothing can compare to the setbacks I have had as a daughter. My father had been deployed for the military for over a year during the coronavirus. I had missed him terribly, and my family had been separated for too long. I always rely on my family for happiness, food adventures, movie nights, and, most importantly, a support system. I would not be who I am today without my family and for us to be separated was becoming too much to withstand. The coronavirus continuously kept him on deployment and left my mom and I to wait in worry. We didn’t know if we would see him for another year or several months. Eventually, my dad made it home safe and sound. I have been through pain, happiness, stress, excitement, and sadness through this taxing quarantine. In the end, I have learned the valuable life lesson that everything happens for a reason. I will not always get what I want, but I can learn from the journey and emotions that I am currently experiencing and use it to form my future self.