113 A Timeline of Two Weeks to Two Years: Uncertainty During the COVID Pandemic
Anonymous
When lockdown was announced on March 13, 2020, the world seemed to have paused. Normal activities such as going to school, travelling, and meeting friends were among the many that were suspended. Instead, they were replaced with virtual learning, trying new hobbies, and videoconferencing. As a 16-year-old, grade 11 student living in Mississauga, Ontario, I was fortunate to live with my family during the lockdown. However, there was a constant concern about whether life would ever go back to normal, to the time before the pandemic.
On March 13, 2020, a two-week lockdown was announced. Looking back, I was naïve and was convinced that a two-week lockdown would be sufficient to return to normal. I didn’t truly understand how fast Covid was spreading. After a few weeks, classes resumed online, and each teacher had a different approach. Some teachers used the flipped classroom model, some conducted virtual tests and others shared optional homework.
At this time, I had registered for my first AP exam, the AP Physics 1 exam, scheduled for May 2020. With in-person learning disrupted, I had to self-learn many of the concepts. Although I enjoyed physics, I was stressed about my ability to self-learn the material. However, a lot of innovative strategies arose during the lockdown, such as an online AP preparation YouTube channel hosted by the College Board organization. They hosted live informational prep sessions, which helped me prepare. I felt like I was part of a community studying for the exam, which helped me pass it.
The lockdown continued during the summer of 2020. At first, I didn’t know what to do with all my free time and started to feel isolated. However, I spent time doing activities I usually didn’t have time for, such as trying viral food recipes or going on socially distanced walks around my neighbourhood. I remember reading and watching a lot of old movies, Shark Tank and The Voice. As a family, we explored local trails and spent more time in nature. Normally, I would have had some adventures with my friends, but due to restrictions, we relied on Google Meet to stay connected.
The full lockdown lasted until the fall of 2020, after which my school board implemented a quadmester system, so we had four terms per academic year, with two courses per quadmester. I remember that this was very stressful because of the importance of our grade 12 year in terms of academic achievements and applying to post-secondary during the uncertainty of the pandemic. Moreover, the fast pace of the quadmesters made it difficult to retain information. Life as we originally knew it changed for everyone. Most of the changes impacted my high school to university experience as a student.
Looking back, my Covid experience was full of adaptations to uncertainty, including adjusting to new learning methods, studying, and finding alternative ways to connect with friends.
A big life event that I feel I missed out on was my high school graduation and the senior traditions that come with it, such as prom. Like many students, I was looking forward to this milestone and celebrating it with my friends. However, graduating in 2021 meant facing pandemic restrictions, so my school hosted a drive-through graduation, where we picked up our Ontario Secondary School Diploma. There were no senior sunrise events, no graduation trip, no graduation pictures, and no formal prom. It was not what I had expected, but at the time, it was the best option to maintain safety.
Still, my friends and I did our best to adapt. To make the most of the circumstances, we organized a small prom gathering while following the safety protocols. Coincidentally, I received my second dose of the Covid vaccine the morning of our prom party, and I was worried about an adverse reaction; fortunately, I didn’t experience any adverse symptoms. Although we missed out on many traditional moments, the experience taught me the importance of making the most out of the situation. While it wasn’t the graduation I had imagined, it was still meaningful and a unique experience.
My COVID experience closely relates to the course theme of uncertainty. We have learned how pandemics bring about scientific and social uncertainty, as demonstrated by shifting theories about disease transmission. For instance, the changing concepts of tuberculosis or the uncertainty surrounding the plague, such as whether quarantine was effective and how the plague was spread, including theories of miasma and contagion.
One of the biggest uncertainties I faced during the pandemic was regarding my post-secondary pathway. As schools shifted to virtual learning and extracurricular activities, I felt that I had missed out on opportunities to learn more about my interests, which could have helped me make a decision. As a result, I applied to a broad set of university programs because I knew I had broad interests. However, I was stuck choosing between the iBioMed and Life Sciences program at McMaster University. At this crossroads, I was unsure of how to decide, so I tried to make the most educated decision based on conversations with people in both programs and through self-reflection. It seemed like a very important decision as it would shape the next four years of my life. Initially, I was interested in the iBioMed program because of its interdisciplinary nature, and Life Sciences seemed to give me the flexibility to specialize in my second year. I was so uncertain about this decision that I first selected the iBioMed program on the Ontario Universities Application Portal because some people shared that if they were in my spot, they would choose this program. However, I then self-reflected and realized I needed to trust my intuition, so I changed my selection to the Life Sciences program on the day that admission decisions were due. I did not want to regret my decision, but I now realize that a lot of important decisions are based on limited information. Like people who lived during past pandemics and had to make decisions, whether they were scientists or government officials, their knowledge was limited, like mine. Our knowledge is limited based on our experiences, biases and opinions. It isn’t until we experience something that we truly recognize whether that was the ‘correct’ decision or not. For instance, when John Snow believed cholera was spread by water rather than miasma, many of his peers disagreed with his thinking. But he overcame the uncertainty by sticking to his work. Just like John Snow persisted in his belief, despite the people around him thinking otherwise, I learned that uncertainty is inevitable but trust in oneself and self-reflection is most important. Looking back, I am grateful for the choice I made and the resilience I developed in facing uncertainty.
