To add to this mess of a year, here came virtual learning for the very last year of high school. I was pretty upset to say the least, I was looking forward to much of senior year and the things I would be doing. Mental health has become a fundamental subject within the pandemic this year, but I didn't think virtual learning would be a contributing factor to it. The last couple of weeks of the previous school year has been a big blur, so I completely forgot the idea of zoom meetings and taking notes at a screen.
It wasn't until the 2nd or 3rd week of school that classes have become challenging. I could easily understand the curriculum, but to a certain extent. Every week I got an overload of assignments to the point where I could only apply what I learned for those assignment points. I had weekly tests and it was too overwhelming to balance one class over another without forgetting important information. About 3-4 hours would be dedicated to zoom classes and the school day in general, and once that last class ends I'm back to homework for another couple hours. There are some situations where even though I dedicated that much time into homework, I would forget some assignments that were hidden within a Google Doc or the Canvas calendar. Weekends weren't even an exception; the same classes that would be assigning an overload of work over the school week would also be assigning the same workload over the small break we're supposed to be guaranteed. Up to now, I can't recall most of the information that was taught from that time frame.
A lot has changed over the past couple of months, Fortunately after a couple weeks, some of my teachers took into consideration how much work is being assigned to their students in addition to their other teachers. I'm extremely grateful for those teachers, even the ones who aren't my own, who have taken it in their ability to risk a little curriculum to cut down on their assignments. Shortly before our leave, our government class along with the Ethnic Women's Studies class had the option to discuss with Mr. Polk on an open panel about our issues. Over Thanksgiving break, students wanted to act on this issue and not only let some of our teachers know, but the board members acknowledge our struggles of virtual learning. The letter writing campaign took over a short period of time, but it worked out in the end, because our principal has created a policy to focus on the wellbeing of students. Though there are some teachers who detest to this, there are many teachers who have finally come to realization to the impact of virtual learning, and it's starting somewhere.
In regards to my mental health, it's been all over the place. The pandemic has already been wearing me out and with the events of school, so it took a heavy toll on my mental health. I recall that after the first couple of weeks of school, I dreaded waking up in the morning. There wasn't any joy in waking up to sit at my computer for the rest of the day; everything felt like an endless routine. The days I felt the most stressed, I felt like I couldn't focus on myself because there were some assignments to do. However, I've taken it in my ability to really try to focus on myself this year. Throughout the year, I've discovered and utilized the resources about mental health given to me to my benefit. I've taken mental health days, and in those days I've taken the time to relax, unwind, and focus on my hobbies.