It was around March of 10th grade me and my friends heard rumors that we would be taking some time off due to the virus that has been rapidly spreading throughout the world. Of course, at first, I was happy since that meant we would get some time without homework, more free time to spend playing video games, and staying up late watching anime with my room as dark as a cave, but as time went on my emotions will eventually become the victims of this dreadful pandemic. 

The rumors ended up being true and we did have to stay at home and instead of me just relaxing at home doing nothing, our teachers told us that we would be doing our classwork from home as well. A little over a week has passed since we started what the teachers called “social distance learning” and I could be doing better. I found myself constantly getting distracted due to my surroundings (and also because I have the attention span of a newborn puppy) which affects how fast and how well I was doing my classwork. My grades stayed the same but I was struggling just to keep them as they are. I started getting a little stressed and usually when I get stressed it doesn’t end well but I decided to just ignore it and continue my work. Some time had passed by, it was mid April and I was already way more stressed than I was before. My mom noticed this and approached me, “Are you alright?” she said. 

“I’m fine” I said, “Just a little stressed with my work that’s all.” 

“Hmmm, alright well if you need help with anything just let me know.” She said with a worried face, I nodded. Seeing that worried face reminded me of how much my mom cared about my mental health and this one time that she really helped me. It was back in middle school and I recently had some issues with one of my friends and we weren’t talking anymore, my mom noticed that I would come home looking really down and asked me what was going on. “I got into an argument with one of my friends and we aren’t talking anymore and I really want to apologize to them and go back to being friends but I don’t know if they want to be friends with me anymore.” I said as my eyes were watering and were on the verge of overflowing with tears like a cup with too much water. She gave me a whole speech on how I could apologize and then proceeded to tell me that if they don’t accept my apology then they are missing out on a great friendship. That memory always stays with me and I will never forget it. That really helped me calm down and I was definitely motivated and I was able to finish my work for that day. 

The next day I was really not in the mood to do any work and that same day we started working on our final project for physics. I wasn’t a fan of physics at all since it had way too much math and our teacher would always give us packets that we had to finish the very same day we got them or the next day. So just going over what the project will be about stressed me out. A week passed by and we were half way through the project and I was losing sleep just thinking about it. I could do certain parts of the project fast without losing too many points and I would wake up in the mornings basically half dead like a zombie. It got to the point where I was just completely confused on how to do the rest and I was just in shambles. I then decided to send an email to my physics teacher asking what we had to do in a section. I really needed to know what to do or else I wouldn’t be able to continue the work and would have to just wait. I sent the email but my teacher didn’t respond. One hour passed, then two hours, then three hours later still no word from my teacher, at that point I had basically given up on the project and my emotions had reached the peak of negativity. My mind was just closed like a locked door with the key thrown away. I didn’t know what to do. I was just asking for a miracle to happen and save me from my negativity as I felt that it was eating me alive. Then my mom approached and it was as if an angel appeared before me. 

“You just need to relax and calm down, when you stress out you just completely feel like that world is ending!” she said with a slightly annoyed tone. 

“I’m trying but I really need to know how to do this next part or else I won’t be able to turn in the assignment and all my work will be for nothing.” I said while slightly crying. My mom sighed. 

“It’s just a lot harder to do work from home since there are a lot of distractions, the teachers aren’t actually here being able to help you immediately just by raising your hand. I-it’s just too much for me to handle.” I said while just completely giving up. 

“I know it’s hard for you since this change happened really fast and out of nowhere but just giving up isn’t going to help, you just have to breathe and relax and you will see that everything will be better.” My mom said while patting my back. Listening to my mom’s voice and hearing her staying positive really helped me realize that what I am doing is wrong. I need to stay positive during this time since staying negative will get us nowhere. At this exact moment not only did I realize that I just need to be patient but I also got an email from the teacher explaining how to do the final section. I immediately smiled and got right to work. I was able to finish the final section in less than an hour, turning it in and getting a B+ for it. Then, I decided to thank my mom for helping me get out of that horrible situation, she smiled and said “It’s my job to help my children get out of situations like that so you're welcome.” 

Now I’m in April of 11th grade and I haven’t stressed myself out as much as I did last year and I learned that I just need to stay patient. My grades are doing great and now I know how to control my emotions a lot better which helps me in a really big way. Now I can use what I learned in other classes and even when I'm older and have a job.