It was a huge change not returning in class after spring break. With the weight of the pandemic sinking in I began to understand how this would affect the rest of my year: no band concert, no year end dance show, no school carnival; I wouldn’t be playing Pomp and Circumstance or get to watch my friends a year older graduate. Looking back, these events seem minuscule compared to what became the huge scope of COVID-19, but this was the first time I had ever gone without these year end markings.

Beyond listening to new music and taking walks, it was apparent that through quarantine getting back into activities virtually was important. After a week of initial shock, I was extremely grateful to see how quickly teachers, classmates, and my peers were adapting. (Although this is my experience, COVID-19 has changed our “normal” and I know this isn’t the reality for many people who aren’t privileged with this time, health, technology, and capacity to have so many opportunities virtually!). To the dismay of my family and neighbours, my 3 hour tap class was moved entirely online through Zoom. We were able to adapt our show into video versions. I’m so proud that together we still completed the project despite never seeing each other in person.

In terms of remote learning, my mom is a high school teacher and seeing the behind the scenes of what teachers were doing to make the transition online easier was amazing (shoutout to my Mom!! Hi!!). My school ran through teams and we’d have video calls once a week, then we got assignments from each teacher. Sometimes keeping track of everything was difficult but I was in a rhythm by the end with an online agenda.