‘Sup zoomer,
In case you forgot, corona right now is hitting different. School’s out, all activities are canceled, and your parents aren’t letting you leave the house except to play basketball at the local park (I told Josh I’m grinding but still can’t make a layup). APUSH assignments, conversations over dinner, and even articles about dogs like Patch all have been consumed and held hostage by the news and coverage of this virus.
I’m not gonna lie: besides not being able to see my friends, I’m loving this e-learning lifestyle. I wake up at noon, finish a school day’s worth of work in less than an hour, then have the rest of the day to chat with friends or play video games (or, in many cases, do both at the same time). Teachers are grading assignments more leniently than ever, and every missed homework assignment, Zoom appointment, or test question can be easily excused by a “technical error.” Honestly, from a purely academic and productivity standpoint, the twists and turns of day-to-day life have seemed to straighten out tenfold.
Yet, at the same time, a lot has been lost to void of these “unprecedented times.” To be honest, I could care less about graduation (I didn’t even buy a cap-and-gown, remember?). But things like middle-school reunions, college visits, and precious last moments with your lifelong friends before journeying off to university? Those truly feel like treasures stripped away from me.
With all of these moments left for speculation, that’s not to say things haven’t happened here at home since school’s been out. Remember the countless late nights of League scrims and Minecraft ridiculousness? Or doing (extremely makeshift) workouts with backpacks stuffed with textbooks and chromebooks? Or Zoom-ing with the lads to share in experiencing the rewards of years of hard work and dedication?
Bro, I’d eat that.
It’s these moments of isolation that seem to make connecting with those you care for most so special. In case you forgot, Allen and I trekked on a loop around the neighborhood, snapping quick selfies at each house we passed. We caught Chen cheffing, Josh balling, Jeff gaming, and Brian refusing to leave his house to avoid risk. Oh, and Wang not attending, as usual.
Finally, you got the time to reconnect with old friends who you hadn’t seen/talked to in so long. Calling the ISSYP guys from the past summer in the middle of the day, with kids from all around the world (and the chaperone, Dan!) was easily the highlight (so far) of the quarantine. To know that people from Turkey, India, Canada, and Ghana were all dealing with issues similar to you almost unified us in our fight to stay safe.
Well, I’m about to go upload a video and duo with weyuijoko. I hope you are having fun wherever you may be.
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Jason Gu