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Last March, when we moved into distance learning, I thought of it as a multi-week vacation, but I came to find out that wouldn’t be true. Instead, I should have been saying my goodbyes, for over a year, to my friends and teachers.
COVID really struck East Palo Alto hard. I personally know friends and community members who have gotten very sick and some who even ended up on ventilators. COVID hit us extra hard because of our living situations and employment sectors. East Palo Alto supplies some of the most vital essential workers in the area.
Distance learning has been hard for me at times yet has allowed me to grow a ton over this past year. I work with an organization, Cooline Team of East Palo Alto, that teaches young children leadership. I have devoted so much more time helping to expand that program over the past year, in turn helping so many young people in my community. I have also been able to meet and connect with people I never thought I would be able to connect with due to distance. I think for me, the most important part was to move away from the idea of trying to “survive” and move into “thrive” mode. So instead of pressuring the world to go back to “normal,” I focused on how we can make the best out of this situation. I continue to bring that thrive mindset into everything I do, from school to work. But I know it’s been really hard for others, such as my younger brother with ADHD. He had so many challenges already: COVID just made it all worse, since he was not able to interact much with other kids.
I hope once we all get back to our school campuses, we can combat some of these social challenges so many are talking about. My focus has been on life over education, people over grades, and masks over ventilators. I think about how what I do affects my family, friends, and community. Before I take off my mask, I ask myself, “Do I want to be responsible for this person’s death? Or the death of their elderly parent?” I’m a community person; I just hope we, as a community, can get through this time.
Christian Sbragia is a junior at East Palo Alto Academy and an East Palo Alto resident. He serves on the San Mateo County Youth Commission, an advisory committee the county Board of Supervisors established to address the needs of youth and give them voice in local government.
The Almanac accepts guest opinions of up to 600 words and letters to the editor of up to 300 words. Send signed op-eds and letters to letters@almanacnews.com by 5 p.m. Monday and noon on Tuesday, respectively. No form letters, please.
The Almanac accepts guest opinions of up to 600 words and letters to the editor of up to 300 words. Send signed op-eds and letters to letters@almanacnews.com by 5 p.m. Monday and noon on Tuesday, respectively. No form letters, please.
The Almanac accepts guest opinions of up to 600 words and letters to the editor of up to 300 words. Send signed op-eds and letters to letters@almanacnews.com by 5 p.m. Monday and noon on Tuesday, respectively. No form letters, please.
Thank you for sharing your journey