Stay Persistent

Moving into 2021, we’re still doing virtual school. Around the world, scientists are testing a vaccine so we can go back to living normally and going to school normally. My experience with virtual learning, time management, and staying quarantined has been a long journey and still continues even now. This has been going on since March of 2020, and it feels as though I’m writing a documentary on how life has been. In Trevor Noah’s book, Born a Crime, he gives a description about several events that have happened throughout his life. He speaks about historical events he has lived through, and I’m doing the same. Some day, I will be reflecting on this, and thinking back to how I, and many others, have lived through this event together. Trevor Noah also speaks a lot about his mother, which stands out to me. When he was talking about his mom on page 55, he says, “The thing that amazed me about her life was that no one showed her. No one chose her. She did it on her own. She found her way through sheer force and will.” Growing up, people were there to show and help me in my education so I can work towards my goals. But now, I want to reach my goals through my own sheer determination. I have been working towards these goals by improving my time management and motivation. His mom was a big impact on him, his education, and when he talks about her in his book -- it inspired me a lot. Even in the hard life situations like no transportation or not enough money, she would still make her way through it all with Trevor. Although they weren’t as fortunate in terms of money, Trevor was still fortunate enough to go to a better but less progressive school. When Trevor was going to school, he studied the somewhat diverse groups and who hung out with who in the schoolyard. I remember when I was going to school, I looked around and when people poured into the yard, I almost knew who would go where. It wasn’t the same circumstances Trevor Noah was in, but it was similar. Now, virtual learning with Zoom has made this even more different. You won’t know who’s going to get along with who, or who will hangout with who. Students all over the world are experiencing virtual learning for the first time and adjusting to it. It is impacting their lives and education, and for some it can be a negative impact--for others, a positive one. Education is a big part of almost everybody’s lives, and so many things have changed in the last year. These changes have impacted me and how I will work towards my goals, but either way -- virtual school or not, I’m still working hard to reach them.