Out of all the things to go wrong and in 2020, it had to have been the global pandemic known as Covid-19. Not only were students required to stay inside for the rest of their school year, but the entire summer break as well. Students have had to adapt to their new “normal” and find things to keep themselves occupied to pass the time. Several students chose to be productive by starting new and interesting hobbies

“I picked up gardening,” Senior Katya Sarre said. “ I didn’t really choose it, it just started happening.”

She’s used this time of being stuck at home to spend more time on her now flourishing garden full of various plant life. The garden started when her family stopped mowing their lawn three years ago and allowed the native plants to grow. They continued to take care of them for the next few years and even grew fruit trees (peach trees, an orange tree, etc.) and many more plants (pumpkins, basil, herbs, lavender, and more) two years ago. 

“It did help pass the time,” Sarre said, “It kept me occupied because even though with plants there is a lot of just ‘waiting’ for them to grow, you don’t think about all the individual things they need as time goes on.” 

Other students chose to improve in hobbies they were quite familiar with. For example, Senior Grace Fischer worked on crocheting during the quarantine. 

“I’ve actually crocheted since I was a kid! I started at some point in elementary school, and I learned from youtube and a lot of practice,” Fischer said, “I had recently gotten hooked on crocheting again after making a cool backpack I found online.”

 “After that, my friend asked me to make them a doll, and I started finding patterns/coming up with ideas of plushies that all reminded me of my friends!” Fischer said, “After making the plushies, I was a little addicted. Even now that school has started again I’m still making a few for myself. Being able to do something that I know I’m good at and to be proud of my results is a great feeling!”

Some students have taken advantage of the idea of staying indoors all day. Students such as Senior Shelby Long chose to spend her time learning digital art. 

“I have always been interested in making different kinds of art forms, and digital appeals to me because of how streamlined it is,” Long said, “It has been somewhat difficult learning how to get everything I can out of the apps I use as I’ve never tried anything similar before. I really like the process that goes into making art and the feeling of gratification that you get after finishing a piece.” 

While quarantine caught everyone off-guard and left many students feeling confused at what to do, they were able to adapt and overcome it for the better. 

“It was hard at times,” Sarre said. “You have to have patience but it all pays off in the end.”