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Jazmine Ibarra

Fire Cohort

17 March 2021

Spring SLC

1. What word do you think best describes your experience of the pandemic? Explain.

One word that best describes my experience of the pandemic is eventful. Despite the fact

that we were no longer at school in person, I still had a lot of things going on at home. Having to

transition from in-person schooling to online learning was different, but as time went on, I

adapted and got used to it. Aside from schoolwork, I also had to watch over my siblings, make

sure they were eating, drinking, doing their schoolwork, and do more cleaning since we spent the

vast majority of our time together at home. All of that mess can accumulate and contribute to an

even bigger mess and I am not the type of person to leave a mess if I see one. I also took up some

opportunities such as running for ASB vice president for our school after being an active

member for the past four years. It was really rewarding to learn that my partner and I actually

won, and that I could continue to work in ASB, but now help lead it.

2. Can you think of any ways that you have grown/changed in this time? Tell us about it.

I have grown and changed in this time because well, every year I change. Physically,

mentally, and emotionally. To specify in what ways I have grown/changed in this year of

quarantine, I feel like I’m more okay with being by myself. Since distance learning requires that

one stares at a screen and sits down for an extended period of time, it’s just me sitting in my

room and doing class/homework. I’ve had to keep my focus, concentration, and work ethic

strong while in distance learning. I’ve had to keep up with the demands of keeping my good
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grades and also any work I had for ASB. I also had to make sure my siblings were eating,

drinking, and helping clean around the house. All the things that I have been doing during

quarantine have added up and because I’ve been doing these things on my own, for the most

part, for about a year, I’ve gotten a bit quicker at doing these things.

3. If you could go back in time to right before the pandemic shut everything down, what

advice would you give yourself/what would you do?

If I could go back in time to right before the pandemic shut everything down, I’d give

myself the advice to remember to take time to myself. Even before the pandemic I struggled with

this. I can be a bit of an overachiever or get too absorbed in the things that I am doing, so I’ll

forget to eat, drink, or take a break. Doing work takes a toll on you, especially if it is for hours at

a time.

4. Many adults in education right now are very focused on the idea of “learning loss.”

What do you want those adults to know about you and your experience during the

pandemic? What learning have you gained rather than lost?

I don’t like to admit it, but it was difficult. Difficult for me to balance home life from

school life because all of a sudden, due to this pandemic, both of these things were occurring in

one place: at home. This made it challenging for me to differentiate between taking time for

myself while spending more time on schoolwork. Even though I was by myself in my room

doing all the assignments, it was still hard for me to keep focus and maintain my composure

when I felt so overwhelmed, but I didn’t want to ask for help. I endured it and got to a point

where I did, at one point, reach out to someone and it was nice to vent. I didn’t realize I had so

much on my mind and resting on my heart. I think I have learned that I do need to take a step
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back and relax. I need to set a time for me to wake up, get off electronics, and go to sleep. After

all, I spend most of my week staring at a screen. Even staring at my phone can bring me that

same feeling of Zoom fatigue after a while, but it is still addictive. This is why I have a set time

to get off and put away my electronics. It is helpful, but the days where I do not finish my work,

I end up going past my set time. I have learned that I need a way to keep myself accountable and

also balance the way I spend my time/what I do with my time.

5. What are you planning for next year?

For next year, I plan to go to community college and spend two years trying to find out

what exactly I am interested in. Of the things that I am interested in, I plan to figure out what I

can pursue as a career. I want to learn how to drive and get over my trauma. I’m not sure how to

do that, other than just going for it because it’s already been a year. Also, I’m not sure what, but I

would like to continue finding ways to help people in any way that I can. It is something that

makes me feel purposeful, useful, and happy. When I see that other people are happy, it makes

me happy as well. This could be in the form of volunteering, donating, supporting and informing

others of things that I care about, etc.