Drive to Thrive in the Now Normal

Compiled by: Veronica Chua (12 Dwight Moody), Lanz Ngo (12 Hudson Taylor), and Phoebe Joy Uy (12 Martin Luther)

 

The pandemic has, certainly, brought unforeseen challenges and turned our lives around. The Grade 12 Senior High School Students have dangled their feet in unknown waters, far from the experience they had expected a year ago.

We have gathered answers from our fellow students on how they were able to thrive this school year amidst the pandemic situation.

Here are their responses:

 

From Dwight Moody

I was able to survive the pandemic by immersing myself in hobbies such as playing billiards and working out. I was able to spend time with my family and was able to destress myself by playing billiards. – Andre Sia

I was able to thrive by being creative with my notes and by designing a corner of my room that reminds me to ‘Dream BIG DREAMS’. – Angeline Andrada

I thrived through the pandemic by playing video games to avoid being bored. To balance my time and be of help to other people, I also help in doing the household chores and spend time getting to know the Lord through reading the Bible. – Joaquin Hao

One of the many things that helped me cope and survive this pandemic is playing chess. Through this, I was able to spend some quality time with my family, deepen my focus and calm down my mind after a long day of spending time in front of my computer. – Julian Ang

Since we are stuck inside our homes with a huge time on our hands, I believe that I only need these hobbies during this pandemic, to keep me productive, in shape, and be entertained. For productivity, I found myself starting a new hobby of reading books about business and self-help. For a habit to keep me in shape, I have been playing basketball in our small driveway court. And lastly for keeping me entertained, I would play the guitar and listen to music in my free time. – Tommy King

 

From Hudson Taylor

The pandemic dramatically altered how each person lived and limited what each person could do. This experience was no different than what I experienced as the pandemic rocked our world. It was a difficult adjustment as schools went online and going outside became risky conquests. Because of this, the majority of my day was spent at home. It was here where I learned how to not only survive the pandemic but to make good use of my time. I started practicing playing drums, which I enjoyed as I honed my skills. – Sebastien Reaport

I have been doing a lot of art lately since it really helps me stay away from screens from time to time. It also helps calm down my nerves, if ever I get stressed and feel overwhelmed with tasks. With the watercolor picture, I have been doing this type of art style for a while since it is quick and easy to make. Whereas the acrylic, it has been a long time since I started painting again due to school and now that I have time, I was able to do acrylic painting again, my favorite type of art medium. – Samantha De Lusong

Because of the pandemic, I suddenly had so much time to do many things. One of the things I spend the most time on would be playing the violin. Whether it’d be classical pieces or pop songs, I enjoy spending hours everyday arranging and playing music in my room. Another thing that I end up spending a lot of time on making and eating a lot of food really helped me to get through this pandemic. – Kaitlyn Shu Too

To cope with this pandemic, I study and play music.  These things help me cope because I love the things I study such as Math and Physics, and music has helped me calm my mind down whenever I get stressed. – Jershon Ang

Using my skills in editing and 3D rendering to create art during the pandemic helps me feel better and survive during the pandemic. Not only that, exploring new hobbies during the pandemic like taking star trail photos at midnight for hours is also very relaxing and helps me adjust to the pandemic. – Andre Tan

Throughout both the pandemic and online classes, their runs have been draining as of late, but these are some things that had aided me in bearing these troubling times: 1) Rubik’s cubes has been my go-to activity in order to keep my ever-moving hands busy, even in the most anxious of times and 2) Through each day, I had been able to bear my own challenges with His promises and words that I have been able to get by coming to reading the Bible in morning devotions and other Bible readings, and inquiring of and talking to Him through prayer. – Jacob Tan

 

From Martin Luther

This lockdown allowed me to spend more time with my family, the people I love the most, as we got to be creative and do things we don’t always do together at home such as baking. – Alexandra So

I’ve always been interested in paint by numbers because I just needed to fill in areas marked with numbers on the canvas with corresponding numbers for each paint color. With this, I was able to deal with the boredom and cope with the pandemic. – Anjel Ho Te

The pandemic has forced us all to accept uncertainty, and it is definitely not an enjoyable feeling. I frequently find myself coping by socializing with friends and family, playing games, reading, training my dogs to do tricks, and trying new things such as sewing. These activities are some of the many reasons I have learned to embrace the uncertain and thrive despite it. – Kathlyn Torres

Reading allowed me to visit places despite being confined to my house. On the other hand, drawing allowed me to creatively express myself. – Paulaine Sim

This pandemic has been a challenge for all of us socially, mentally and emotionally. Some of the ways I was able to cope were working out and spending time with my family. It is at this time that I realized how to appreciate the little things in life and knowing the things that truly matter at the end of the day. – Zachary Amin

Our SHS fellow students have so many stories and experiences to share on how this pandemic has rocked their boats that they thought was sailing smoothly. We had seen humongous waves and ferocious storms that they thought would sink our ships. But they remained strong and found ways on how to keep it upfloat. Certainly through God’s provision and guidance, our students survived all the challenges and frustrations this pandemic has brought them.