Nothing was more unexpected this year than a long lasting global pandemic. In this time of stress and uncertainty, good health is an utmost priority. The coronavirus has taken over how we deal with our education and how we handle our everyday activities. Everybody feels out of place or stuck with their emotions, with not many ways to “set free.” We are living through a history book lesson that has taken a toll on our mindset and attitude.

One of the ways I have dealt with the coronavirus is by bringing on a sweat and being active. With the cancelations of spring high school athletics, a lot of teens are upset we can’t show off our skills in our favorite sports. My lacrosse season ended very abruptly, with only a few practices to get us rolling with my sophomore season. Even through this sad news, I still have been practicing with my little sister to hopefully be a better athlete by this time next year. I have enjoyed working out and running, to keep in shape for hopes that the soccer season won’t be ended so soon, too. Due to social distancing, being cooped up in the house means eating the entire fridge when bored, so exercising has been beneficial to say the least. Being active has helped take my mind away from the craziness that is our world right now, and to keep in shape.

Being socially distant comes with many challenges. One of the major downsides to quarantine is being away from friends and other family members for so long. Without physically being in school, you lose a lot of opportunities many take for granted, such as seeing our friends and peers daily. Video chat, Zoom, or FaceTime has been helpful with staying in touch with everyone. The help from your classmates on schoolwork has been achieved through group chats, too. It’s nice to know peers are still willing to help and be an extra mentor during a tough time of learning. Teachers have been there for us students as well by staying online to reply to questions. The feeling of loneliness, sadness, or being overwhelmed can be helped a lot by a talk with friends. We can all practice social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19, and decrease the days spent away from those missed.

The coronavirus has brought to us many scary and unpredictable situations around the infected globe. You hear only about the negatives, but some light can be seen at the far end of the tunnel. Positivity can be spread throughout the community and make worried residents less afraid of the worst possibilities. Coping with this mindset, of being grateful for the health I have, has helped me to realize quarantine is a necessity and should not be a rule to break or get upset about. Good has come from being stuck in our homes. The world is improving physically, with an example of the decrease in air pollution. This can be a time where we realize that we should not take for granted our everyday activities. We are empathetic more than ever for the health of strangers and are growing connections based on the virus. Our stay-at-home orders put a realization on myself of how serious this virus has gotten. It has been a time to focus on myself and better my habits. Even though this is a tough time and we can’t tell what the future holds, after corona is handled, we will all have a new outlook on life and not get upset over the things we’re currently missing out on.

Overall, the coping methods I have put on myself to get through the struggles and hardships of COVID-19 have been keeping active, staying connected to friends, family, and peers, and also understanding that there is good under the mask of negativity. The process we have been going through is helping for our world to become healthy again. My perspective on life has been altered by the outbreak of this deadly virus and my view of the world will forever change for the better. I believe managing our emotions has been hard, but having some sort of way to keep busy is useful to take your overwhelmed mind away from harsh reality.

—Meghan

Share your own story here. Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect with other people. Be part of the Teen Health & Wellness Personal Story Project—like Meghan did above—and share your story about successfully dealing with or overcoming a challenge.