A Christmas Break 2.0 - 4/3/2020 We got two weeks of nothing. Teachers COULD NOT assign mandatory work to do over the break, which I took full advantage of. Sleeping for twelve hours a day was great. As the situation is getting worse, a topic like graduation and sports returning come up more often. I think most people are overreacting, I don't think that sports or graduation will get canceled for the year. My Sister is very stressed out about the situation. She is worried that her college will shut down and she will lose the rest of her senior year. This along with gymnastics getting canceled for the rest of the year has really affected her in a bad way.
Forced to Fail - 4/10/2020 I have always been against online education, and now I'm forced to participate. I'm against online education because I have seen it fail twice and I have yet to see it work. My brother went to an online college at Full Sail University. He graduated around four years ago and he still does not have a fulltime job. I also had a friend who switched from public school to an online school. In his extra free time from online school, he picked up some unhealthy habits and stopped participating in what the friend group was doing. This destroyed his friendship with the whole group. So far online school for me has not been bad, but I still have my doubts that anything good will come out of this. Outside of school work I play videogames, sleep, and work around the house. These keep me from getting bored on a day to day bases.
Old Problems - 4/17/2020 My sister came home from college over the weekend. I helped her move back into her old room, which is right next to mine. I didn't think anything of this until old problems I had with her were brought back to light. She watches movies and TV shows at a high volume late into the night making it hard for me to sleep. She lets her wake up alarm ring, which can be heard around the house, for the entire morning. She destroys my toothpaste bottles. The shared sink in our bathroom becomes her sink. She is an architecture major so it's been interesting helping her with college schoolwork. That and the occasional family card game are the only times I really interact with my sister. I've been sticking to playing video games and sleep to keep me from boredom.
The Online Endurance Test - 4/24/2020 I am losing motivation to complete school work. What once was "Due at the beginning of class tomorrow" is now "Due this week". This makes push things easier than you would think. Instead of talking to the teacher about assignments, and them being given to you, you have to look for them. I've never been a fan of the computer-integrated schooling system. I always thought that taking paper notes and righting with a pencil is the best way to learn. For typing, a story, or clicking answer has never really felt right to me. I understand that I might sound like a hypocrite because I play online videogames. To me, videogames are a way of relieving stress and enjoyment, and school is for learning. I am certain that the rest of this school year will be a struggle.
Friendly Fire - 5/1/2020 I have made several close friends playing videogames over the ten years. One of them is named Joey. He's about twenty-two and runs his diseased parents diner. we meet playing "NASCAR The Game: 2011" on Xbox and have been friends ever since. Due to the forced shutdown of restaurants, he has been struggling. Between working his new job at an Amazon Wearhouse and watching over his business he had no time to rest. Recent robberies of local businesses have him extremely stressed out. All I can do for him is hope that he will be able to open again soon, but due to "social distancing" prolonging the effects of the virus I don't know how long it will be until he opens again.
Like A Sausage Hung In Front of a Dog - 5/8/2020 I have gotten a scholarship for Air Force ROTC and have picked which college I am attending in the fall. College is like a dangling sausage in front of a dog, no matter, however, close the fall is, it is still months away. I can't wait to go snowboarding or play baseball again. I wasn't too affected by spring baseball getting canceled because playing offseason was when I enjoyed baseball the most. But no matter how close offseason baseball seams there is a chance that it never comes. Like a sausage hung in front of a dog, I may never get to play baseball with my high school peers again. Prom and Graduation seem to be canceled completely which doesn't phase me. I never planned on attending prom because it didn't interest me. I do feel bad for the parents who spent an absurd amount of money for there kids dresses and suits before the outbreak happened. I've always thought the graduation ceremony is dumb. Its a celebration for those who thought high school was hard. To me, high school is one of the easiest times of your life. After high school the "bullies" in the workplace don't get punished, failing to do your work results in not getting paid, and the support system in the school is gone. After high school life gets harder not easier.
Reliving Old Memories - 5/15/2020 I was outside mowing the yard when one of the younger kids in the neighborhood invited me to play a game called "Manhunt" later that night. This brought back memories of when I was younger and I would play "Manhunt" all the time with the older kids in the neighborhood. "Manhunt" is a modified version of tag and hide and seek played at night, where one team hides in the yards around the neighborhood, and the other has to tag them before time runs out. The oldest of the twelve kids is in ninth grade, so I did kind of feel out of place, but it was fun none the less. Now I first pick when picking teams and have something fun to do other than videogames on weekend nights.