A global pandemic is here and taking over the world! During this quarantine I have had some hard times, loss of motivation, and eating way too much. I have been trying to do many different things to stay busy, but when you cannot go anywhere and you do not have certain things you need to accomplish it is hard.

My big sweet sixteenth birthday was not so big. My driver’s test was canceled. I am not able to see my grandma, cousins, and friends. My golf season was canceled the year I was looking to be captain. Golf on Zoom just does not feel the same. Now that golf courses are open I am able to go play once a week, but if I had my license I would golf so much more. My summer soccer season has been postponed. All we can do is try to “practice” on Zoom and send in videos of us working on our soccer skills. All the sports I love watching on TV stopped airing. But through it all I have still been able to have an amazing birthday. Go outside and be active, hit golf balls into a net. Call my grandma. My favorite thing I have done is getting to spend time with my family, especially my sister who got to come back from college. My sister and I have been able to have more quality time together, which I missed when she went to college. We still get into our occasional fights, but that is all siblings.

Another thing that has happened to me during this quarantine is a loss in motivation. It is hard to stay motivated when you have nothing to strive for. Online school just does not feel like the pressure of getting everything done as in-class school does. People are not feeling the need to do their assignments. A lot of teenagers lay in bed all day, me included. I do not feel the need to go do anything because I really cannot go do anything. I used to love working out all the time and staying busy, playing all the sports I play, but when my sports are cancelled and the YMCA is closed there is nothing to do except lay in bed. One thing that has really helped me stay motivated is a schedule and looking in the mirror, seeing things I want to change physically and having a plan on how to reach my goals. I have really enjoyed going rollerblading and going on bike rides. There have been a couple days where I rollerblade the 10 mile loop around the town which has actually been really fun. I want to find the motivation I lost deep down inside and pull it out to able to go work out more and more because I love to do it.

The last thing that has been hard for me during this quarantine is when I am bored I eat. Eating gives me something to do, so when there is not anything to do, why not just eat? I tell myself every day to stop snacking and that does not help all the time. In the past when I would snack I would just go work it off playing sports, but now sports are canceled so I cannot just go work it off. I actually have to analyze what I am eating and what work I will do to burn it all off and stay fit. I am trying to create a meal plan for myself and follow it, but that is hard too because I am not the one doing the grocery shopping. This quarantine has helped me with my self-control over food and I am determined to start eating healthy and to stop eating sugar.

I hope in the upcoming days I will start to find the motivation I lost and be able to work out more and more. I also want to keep making memories with my family and beat them in some card games. I hope this pandemic is over soon so we can go back to our normal lives, which will not feel so normal anymore. I am really excited to be able to see my friends and family when this is all over and be able to play sports again.

—Lauren

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