By: Lea Rabaron

Science Editor

The start of 2020 was optimistic. It was the end of a decade, a time for change, and many of us rushed into extravagant resolutions for the upcoming year. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, changed that course of action for many people. The arrival of the virus was sudden and abrupt, completely altering the daily lives of all who had not expected it. Those who were required to stay home and find new ways to sustain themselves and their families were also forced to shelve their resolutions away as they awaited better circumstances.

Due to the current pandemic, entering this year felt like a much more cautious endeavor, and many people’s resolutions reflected as such. Isabella Ramos, a twelfth grader at MAST, had a lot to say on the matter. Many of her planned resolutions seemed unforeseeable due to the effects of the pandemic, so she had to come up with new resolutions to better fit our current circumstances.

“This year, I wanted to get better at surfing. Even though I am not the best at sports, I wanted to challenge myself to get better. I also wanted to work out more and do more physical activity such as swimming, but the pandemic changed all of that,” she said.
To do any physical activity indoors or outdoors is to take a risk, putting our health and the health of those around us on the line. To avoid spreading the virus, Ramos was forced to take a different route with her resolutions this year.

“One of my newest resolutions is that I want to be better at organizing myself and staying on task. I want to finish my assignments earlier and not procrastinate as much, especially when I am quarantined. It’s easy to be lazy after a long period of inactivity, so I want to stay on top of that,” she continued.

Another major concern for this year that Ramos addressed is the health of our friends and family, which is now much more prevalent than ever.

“I want to make more time for my friends and family. Even if I can’t see them in person, I want to be able to talk with the ones that I miss and check up on them more often,” Ramos said.

Although many of her plans for this year have been altered due to the virus, Isabella ended on a rather positive note.

“Even though the virus has made my New Years’ resolutions harder to achieve, I will try my best to make the most of them before the end of this year,” she claimed.

In the end, it all comes down to just that: making the most of what we have. This year will certainly not be what we had imagined it to look like, but with a little more dedication and some alterations, we will all be able to achieve the change we wish for in our lives.