By the age of 5, I already attended a fair share of quincenearas and knew by then that I did not want to have a traditional 15th birthday celebrated by my Mexican culture. Wearing extravagant gowns with lace trims wasn't my style. I'd rather don a Jedi robe and in lieu of a flower bouquet, I'd carry a lightsaber. My parents, partially to blame for my love of all things Star Wars, gave me the middle name Leia, after Princess Leia. I was a freshman in high school and college and was turning 15 in 2020. My family kept trying to persuade me to have a quinceanera, even trying to coax me into having an 18th Birthday celebration, customary in my Filipino culture. Despite their persistence, they caved in and built the Star Wars themed party I dreamt of, including personalized lightsabers down to handcrafted Baby Yoda ears to wear, to be followed by a Disneyland trip. March, Friday the 13th, a day before my party, there was news about quarantine for this thing they referred to as Covid-19. All that meant to me was my party and trip were canceled. It was spent binging Star Wars to peel our eyes off of the coverage of COVID. We soon realized much was unknown, except for the numbers–numbers of infected, number of countries with outbreaks, number of dead. Numbers were something I loved, math was my favorite subject; solving equations or analyzing statistics. I've never been more scared of numbers. School announced we were doing distance learning and it became a reality, it wasn't just my birthday that came to a halt, everything I normally loved doing was put on pause. Everyone thought it would be 2 weeks, an early spring break. Two weeks became a month, a month became two. and then the rest of the year. It was when our school issued Chromebooks to learn from the safety of our homes that it cemented—2020 history included life in a pandemic. Online school brought challenges: I dreaded someone noticing I was still in my PJs, secretly trying to scarf down breakfast while in class, or dozing off because of the comfort of doing school at home. Uncomfortable desks and creaking chairs were something I thought I would never miss. I longed to hear the chitter-chatter of my classmates, instead of the silence of muted mics. There's a pang of guilt for feeling my world has turned upside down; it's not even remotely comparable to what others go through. Before the pandemic, my only worries were maintaining a 4.0GPA, working towards my AA degree, and meticulously planning that perfect 15th birthday. Instead, I was consumed with worry over things I never thought I'd agonize over. Extreme germaphobe tendencies of my mom plastered on sticky notes were instilled in me, I worried about what germs were harbored on each inanimate object I touched (or even just barely grazed). I felt like I was constantly washing my hands to the tune of Happy Birthday, a reminder that my celebrations were called off, not to mention the constant washing made my eczema flare-up. My hands were dry and itchy, burning when I would apply hand sanitizer for what felt like the 100th time that day. Breathing in another person's air became my worst fear as the CDC reported how the coronavirus spread. It shouldn't be an issue because I wasn't going anywhere, but my father's a correctional officer-a frontline worker. Every night we had a longstanding tradition; I would sneak to the room right before he fell asleep, and put one of my stuffed animals next to my dad as I kissed him goodnight. However, that petrifying word, numbers, haunted me at home. A great number of staff and inmates were infected. Anxiously, I would refresh the website that tracked cases at his work, praying we wouldn't see an increase. The news reported many frontline workers were making makeshift homes away from homes to protect loved ones. Our family just couldn't fathom the idea of dad living away from home. Hugs became air hugs. No cuddling together on the couch. Goodnight kisses turned into video calls as we made that heartbreaking decision because my mom and I both had underlying health conditions. My world became all about screen time. School had turned into Zoom meetings, visits with my sister and nieces who lived just a walk away were now on FaceTime, hanging out with friends in person became video gaming together online, and to be informed with the outside world, I was now consuming more television and social media than ever. My Sweet 16th was another quarantined birthday, which also meant the pandemic reached over a year! However, there's that glimmer of hope as I received my COVID vaccine. For a sense of normalcy, I get dressed up as if I'm going physically somewhere to meet online. I believe in science and chose to make the best of what I can do from the safety of my home and my newly transformed room my parents did for me to make things just a little bit easier. After all, I'm now spending so much time there, we might as well make the most ideal space for me to be in!

“I want you all to know that I am very proud of all of you. I don't want you guys to be scared of what is ahead, but just be cautious of the future.” It was the last block of the day and the teacher was giving us the same spiel that the rest of our teachers had been giving us since we found out today was our last day until April 23. “It's only three weeks,” I thought to myself, “we'll be back once the state says the cases have gone down. Once the curve has flattened.” The last bell of the day rang and I ran across the street for my boyfriend to pick me up. Students were scattered everywhere, trying to get to their busses. Everyone was laughing, joking, cheering. Little did we know what was going to come of this. The news did a good job of scaring us though. Every channel. Every platform. “Covid-19 cases are rising hour by hour.” people were starting to work from home. Schools were closing. College classes were being put online. Nobody would have expected where it was going. A few weeks later, we got an email. The email stated, “Due to the continuously rising cases, we have decided to push back coming back to campus until May 1st. As of right now, Graduation and Prom have been postponed.” Thirteen years of hard work. Thirteen years of studying. Thirteen years. Washed down the drain in just 10 words. These words bounced in everyone's head. Possibly no prom, after my dress was already paid for. Possibly no Graduation, after we had already gotten our gowns and counted down the days. All of our senior activities, memories, and chances, down the drain in just one short email. Later, the school decided it would be best if all classes were canceled for the rest of the year. My senior year was cut extremely short and I was in shambles because of it. Emotions were high. Any time I told anyone that I was upset, I got the same response. “People are dying. Graduation is the least of our worries” People are dying. Losing their jobs. Their homes. I was fortunate to be able to have my boyfriend move in with me, to be able to still see my family, and still have a roof over my head. But I still could not get the thought of Graduation getting canceled out of my head. Proms started getting canceled a while later. Then there were no large gatherings. Then it was Graduations. They were getting canceled left and right. Friends messaging me. Cousins messaging me. All of their schools had abandoned their Graduations. Stores were closing early, only allowing few people in. Masks were to be worn everywhere. Six feet apart. Our new normal was not ideal but we got used to it. We had to. Early July we had our Prom. It was parent sponsored and not very big. But we got a prom. I dressed up, got my hair done, and took amazing pictures with the Love of my Life, my best friends, and my family. The cases were low then. They were lowering and it was seemingly becoming better. Or at least that's what it felt like. About a week later we got confirmation that Graduation was still going to happen. No walking into our seats to “Pomp and Circumstance” like every other year, everyone had to sit six feet apart, only six guests allowed per student, and families were separated from other families. But it was a graduation. One we were not expecting. But what we wanted all along. That was four days ago. It was the best day of my life and I have never been more proud of myself, my boyfriend, and my Senior Class. All of our Class Officers made heartwarming speeches that left us all with tears in our eyes and we all cried as we threw our caps slightly in the air to keep them from cross-contaminating. I can't tell you what they will do with this next year or years to come but I hope that they do not experience the heartbreak, pain, and suffering we had to. Wear a mask, keep your distance, and don't judge others. Everyone has their own battles.

Looking back only a bit, I am surprised how much my life has changed over a brief period of time. It feels like a life time, but the new reality in which we all are living started not so long ago, when it was a disease of which I heard only on TV. The quarantine in Uzbekistan, provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic began on March 16, 2020. From that day on, I, as well as all university students switched to distance learning. It was not the first time for me to use conference programs, since at my university, in particular the MGIMO-Tashkent, distance classes were held before quarantine, but the lessons were conducted with all my classmates sitting in one room, so it was even fun. During the quarantine, I had to get used to a new reality: many turned off their cameras and sat in silence, usually only the teacher spoke. I learned how to fully concentrate on what my teacher said despite the initial reflex of my mind for an easy distraction in such an unusual setting. Several months passed, at the end I and we all successfully passed the final exams. The quarantine has deprived us of the celebration of this momentous day for us but learned us how to appreciate simple things, how to learn despite changing realities, and how to feel united when we are in the distance. Training and the lack of communication with friends was another normality which I never though could change. Yet, all sports clubs were closed and it was even impossible to do my running program outside. I only took it as another challenge. From the very first days, I decided to rebuild a training program at home. And very soon I saw an advantage discovered there was no need to go anywhere to practice and work on yourself. I even overcame a seemingly huge drawback of not having the equipment for the exercise. I just started I went out to run in the evenings, but the quarantine was so severe that even for several days it was forbidden to run through the streets. Indeed, to maintain high immunity, constant sports are required. Fortunately, the authorities thought of it and allowed it, but by that moment I was too lazy to go out alone. Before the quarantine began, we traveled with friends, there were at least 3 people and it was great, since everyone is trying to improve performance, looking at their friends and achieving more every day. As it turned out, quarantine not only removes, but also brings people closer. Before the quarantine was announced, I had no idea that I was surrounded by such good neighbors. I found myself a partner in doing sports on horizontal bars among my neighbors, unfortunately he turned out to be stronger than me, there is something he strives for (a goal has appeared), and this is very cool. Sport is one of my hobbies, and quarantine has deprived me of that. I will now try to explain why I deprived it. The gym is the place where everyone trains, there is an incentive to do this, all the guys have a specific goal, they tune in before arriving at the gym, therefore, this improves the quality of training, and shows excellent results. Also in sports clubs there is always a coach who will correct you at the right way so that you do not get injured. This disappointed me greatly. Quarantine made it possible to finish the books that I began to read. Surprisingly, I started to break my book reading records. In five days I finished a book that has five hundred pages. During quarantine, I read four books that I really liked and they are all of a different nature. But more, I prefer business books that push you to act, achieve the next goals, and teach a lot. Today one of my favorite books is "From good to great", I also recommend this book to the readers of my essay. Apart from books, I started slowly learning German. In the second year, I will begin a compulsory course in teaching the German language, thus, being an excellent student, I would like to stand out among my classmates by knowing this language, and quarantine allows me to study at home on my own. Quarantine brings family closer. Oddly enough, I began to spend more time with my loved ones. Before quarantine, we sometimes saw each other in the morning at breakfast and later in the evening at dinner. My studying schedule is very tough and requires self-discipline, the beginning of the training courses is always at 9, and the end is from 4 to 6 in the evening, and if my friends and I do not decide to get together somewhere, I come home around 7 in the evening. And so quarantine pushed it all back, so we started spending more time. I finally understood the character of my parents and their psyche, thinking abilities and what motivates them to take certain actions. When we dine together, we often discuss politics, our future and what steps need to be taken to avoid trouble.