Have our non-academic lives really changed due to the coronavirus? Aside from attending school online, some of our fellow students can actually affirm that their lives have remained nearly the same. Gamer Aaron Wong ’21, says that his habits have “not really” changed other than “virtual school and club meetings” and having to wear a mask on the rare occasions he leaves his house. For many who spend the majority of their free time on the internet, their hobbies have remained largely unchanged. 

Others have had to make minor adjustments for their in-person activities. Jenny Chen ’23 shared that her synchronized skating team has “to wear masks and gloves during practice”, but they are still doing their boot camps and competitions as scheduled. In her case, this synchro season is just slightly different than the previous ones. Many other club sports around the city have resumed, including swimming and tennis. 

However, many school sports and park district activities have been suspended for the time being, resulting in these kids not being able to practice anywhere near the frequency they used to. Lucas Pan ’26 says that it “totally sucks” having his CPD swim season suspended as he was “training super hard to become a state contender this year.” They have yet to resume practice and he has been swimming in an oversized jacuzzi in the meantime. His other activities have remained largely unchanged as he admits he “never really left his house in the first place” and enjoys watching YouTube in his free time.

It has become evident that for those whose non-academic lives have been affected by this pandemic, there have been work arounds and solutions for those who really want to make things as normal as possible. But there are no amount of tricks that can make everything completely normal… so until a vaccine comes out, stay safe and smart, Dolphins!