Exactly a year ago COVID-19 was effective and rising in our local area. Cases were coming towards us, schools were shutting down, everyone was at home, people were unemployed, and there was no toilet paper left. Today, in March of 2021, COVID is still here yet things are a little different and maybe even improving. People have gone back to work, and some students go to school for a few days or participate online. Personally, I know how to handle being in my house better because I am here more than I normally would be if we were not in a global pandemic. With this, I am going to give a list of my essential things that help me survive and even explain my overall mindset while being a senior through this difficult time period.

Here is a list of my personal necessities that I think I would not survive without (which include all games, snacks, and normal things for me):

• My refrigerated Starbucks coffee
• Chocolate of some sort
• Hot Cheetos
• Easy microwavable meals to make for lunch
• Mask!
• Piano
• School-issued Chromebook from 6th grade
• My TI-84 Graphing Calculator
• Pets in my house
• The Homescapes game on my phone (it is similar to Candy Crush, haha)
• My blue light glasses
• My whiteboard calendar
• Skin care products
• Car
• Friends and family

These are just some of the many things that I would not survive without while being stuck in my house doing online school. With this, the biggest factor of my survival guide is to have a positive mindset, stay sane, and get motivated. At the very beginning when I started doing online school I did not have a schedule. I was lying in my bed, I played on my phone instead of doing my work when I had extra time in class, and I wasn’t very happy. However, now that I am aware of all of my important necessities, I can get all my work done, spend time with my family and friends safely, organize my school work, eat my favorite snacks while playing games when I have time, and overall start to work on stuff for our spring musical while finishing senior year off right.

Since the state of the world is always changing, and things look different here in our small town, my survival guide will always be flexible and updated as time goes on. Senior year definitely has not been what I dreamed of, but while trying to stay positive and with the weather becoming nicer, things are starting to look up. Also, because I am going back to school in person soon, I hope that this guide will help me stay safe and feel a little more normal while heading back into the building. Finally, my overall goal is that I survive the last nine weeks of school, no matter if I am in my house or in the building, and that I continue to stay motivated and busy, while being happy and having fun!