So, it’s been a while :/ It seems my writing game has trailed off as hard as this school year. #Covid.
These past few months have been a wild and most definitely memorable ride. I can honestly say, I’ve never been so sick of a specific building in my entire life. It makes me grateful that I will be moving to my college dorm in the fall and experience things entirely new after how long I’ve been stuck at home. Now I don’t want to sound ungrateful for my house; I’m blessed to have a place to lay my head at night... and morning and afternoon and basically anytime I feel like because there’s nowhere else to go. But, let’s just say cleaning the dishes gets kind of old after you’ve done it ten times in one week.
*my honorary covid-mask selfie*
Cleaning the dishes hasn't been the only thing I’ve done during quarantine, though, even if it feels like it. I have been finding ways to be productive. One of the first things I did once school was cancelled was film a music cover for my YouTube channel “Christa Joy.” Obviously, this was after I binged Netflix for a couple weeks (your girl needed some time to chill). The motivation was hard to keep. A few days on a few hundred more days off, that was my routine. But, eventually I got into a better rhythm of productivity. This was when I decided I wanted to create my own website (“Mixed Persona”) where I could keep all my creative endeavors in one place. These endeavors include my writing, videos, music, and artwork; my digital portfolio :)
*singing is fun*
What I didn’t expect with quarantine was all the memorable things that would occur. I received the DDCA Academic Scholarship and the Dale Krueger Scholarship which are two amazing scholarships that I am incredibly grateful for. My dance coaches Annie, Rhonda, and Lynne came and did a drop off award “ceremony” for the seniors and I found out that I was awarded most respected member, academic highest honors, and chosen as one of the Mt. Hood League All-Stars. Also during quarantine, I tried out and got accepted onto my University’s dance team. So cool news, I will be continuing my dance journey in college!
*I love the Hi-C’s <3*
Speaking of memorable, I got to vote for the first time! I also got into a car crash that same day which was definitely unexpected. Now when I’m starting my weekly dance team workouts I’m also going to weekly chiropractic appointments; adulting is fun! Honestly, though, I was extremely lucky that I came out unharmed. For the most part I mean, my car was completely totaled so not only goodby high school, but goodbye my high school car :,( There is also a very obvious thing that has occurred during this time off though, the killing of George Floyd. This sparked a big outbreak in America for the Black Lives Matter movement. I can’t deny this has been taking up a lot of my time recently trying to understand and educate myself. I highly suggest that if you are reading this to try and do the same, but above all else love your neighbor as yourself; not just your friends, but each individual person you encounter (mini speech over).
*RIP Scion*
With so much time off it’s been nice to be able to cherish all the little things. For one, I’ve been getting to spend a lot of quality sibling time with my brother since he came back from college. We’ve been playing tennis, going on extensively long walks, playing video games, and binge watching our favorite shows. It’s definitely been nice having him around again. My extended family has also been doing annual zoom meetings which has been a lot of fun. If recorded they’d make for a hilarious sitcom series. I’ve also been DMing with some of my friends including future college colleagues.
*#siblinggoals*
This quarantine season has brought a lot of ups and downs, but even though I “lost” some of my senior year I gained a lot of great memories and connections that probably wouldn’t have happened otherwise. For instance my graduation, even though it was nowhere near “traditional” I had an amazing day. My family and I organized the entire day from sunrise to sunset, literally we woke up at 4:00 a.m. to see the sunrise. This day continued with a fun relay that related to different things I was involved in while I was in high school. I got to eat my favorite foods, walk across a stage, and watch my favorite musical, “My Fair Lady.” The day honestly couldn’t have been much better even if it was “traditional.” I also have been making a video series about my graduation on my YouTube channel which has been a fun project for me (click here for “My Real Quarantine Graduation” series).
*she’s graduated!*
All in all, quarantine has actually been pretty nice, but it also has made me extremely grateful for the time I did get to spend at CHS. The dance competitions, the tennis matches, the all-nighter study sessions, the school dances, assemblies, games, practices, teachers, classmates, friends; all of it. I just want to say make the most wherever and whenever you are in life because you never know how quickly it can end. And above all else thank you for a great 3 ⅔ years at CHS. Christa Pierik, AKA Editor-in-Chief, signing off.
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